The Absence of Good
by RickyRemembers
Summary: They say evil is the absence of good. What if someone you thought was evil was just missing his other half? DG Complete.
1. I Heart You

THE ABSENCE OF GOOD

They say evil is the absence of good. What if someone you thought was evil was just missing his other half?

**A/N: I think I give valid credit for all my quotes and I hope you guys will give me the pleasure of reading your reviews! And Lily, I heart you!**

"_We enjoy warmth because we have been cold. We appreciate light because we have been in darkness. By the same token, we can experience joy because we have known sadness." - David Weatherford_

Oh he'd known sadness alright. All he'd ever had in life was sadness. From the first breath he took, to the slow shallow breaths he was taking now as he flipped through the pages of her diary. It was filled with quotes of all kinds, books she had read, and the everyday happenings of her life.

"_The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart." - Helen Keller_

He wondered if he could feel true joy. He'd felt joy when he was with her, but it was always overshadowed by the growing fears of who they were. They were living on different sides, and someday, it was going to catch up with them.

"_Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength; loving someone deeply gives you courage." - Lao Tzu_

He watched her sleeping on the bed only a few feet away from him. She'd been his angel, from the very beginning, even when he was too stupid to realize it.

_Dear Diary,_

_What does it mean to Heart someone? Luna says she Heart's Ron. I don't get it. I suppose it means love, but I don't understand why they just don't say that instead. Maybe it's too big of a commitment. Maybe they say it because the word love is to strong, and heart is easier to get used too. In that case, I suppose I Heart Draco. He needs to be Hearted. I figure maybe, if I Heart him enough, then he can make a fair choice about who he really wants to be. Maybe I should tell him I heart him... nah, he wouldn't get it. _

_Ginny_

A smile crossed his lips as he read her words. He knew she hadn't wanted him to read the journal when they were together, but he couldn't resist. She had given him her journal a week ago, so that he could know how she felt. But he already knew, every time he looked in her eyes.

He'd be leaving soon. His 7 years in school were up and it was time to start his life. Or leave it behind. He hadn't really decided which yet. His father wanted him to join the death eaters. And while Ginny hadn't made him promise not to, he knew it would break her heart if he did. He'd thought briefly about becoming an Auror. It was that blasted Potter who'd made him think about it.

He'd had a confrontation with Harry about Ginny actually, just a few weeks ago. Outside of the pair Harry was the only one who knew about their relationship. And it was only because he'd found one of Ginny's notes to him. It had been an interesting conversation.

_Harry slammed him against the wall roughly before turning back around to lock the door of the empty classroom. _

"_Well, well Potter, never knew you swung that way. Not that I can blame you--"_

"_Shut up Malfoy. I'm here for one reason and it isn't to listen to you babble." He spat, holding an angry finger to Draco's face. Draco smirked in response. _

"_I would assume not. After all it's quite hard to talk while you--" _

"_MALFOY!" Harry interrupted again. "I'm here to warn you." Harry dropped the hand and became a little bit calmer. Draco's face turned to a well practiced scowl. _

"_Warn me about what Potter?" He folded his arms. _

"_Listen closely, because I'm only going to say this once. Stay away from Ginny." He said, his voice low and threatening. Draco's mind raced, but he retained his perfect unfazed composure on the outside. He starred Harry down for a moment deciding which move to make. Deny or threaten. _

"_I highly doubt she'd want to likes of you defending her." Draco growled. Harry reached a hand out and grabbed Draco by the collar of his shirt. _

"_I know what's best for her!" He shouted. "It's my job to take care of her, not yours! Now that Ron's... now that he... it is none of your business. And I expect you to stay away from her." He tossed Draco forcefully backwards. He didn't walk away though. He was waiting for Draco to say something. So he did. _

"_Sod off Potter. I'll do whatever I please." Bad idea, his brain decided as Harry rushed him. _

_He grabbed him and sent him tumbling over one of the desks. Draco stood back up and readied himself for another attack. When Harry swung at him he quickly ducked and sucker punched Harry in the gut. He pushed him away. Then in an instant he had his wand out and pointed at Harry's temple. Harry stopped moving. _

"_Now listen here Potter. I'm sorry about your friend, but get a bloody punching bag. Don't try to take out your aggressions on me for something you have no say in. It's none of your business. And believe me when I say that I will never hurt Ginny. I'm the only Slytherin who can say that. Now I could kill you right down with two little words. But I can't very well revive your friend without your help." He pulled the wand away from Harry's head and offered him a hand. _

"_What did you say?" Harry asked slowly. He starred dumbfounded at the hand Draco was offering him. _

After that the conversation had turned friendly. Took seven years, but they finally seemed to agree on something. Harry no longer objected to Draco being with Ginny, but he didn't seem to have any qualms about asking why.

"_I don't get you Malfoy." Harry said quietly. Draco nodded. _

"_Only one person does. And if any idiot was ever stupid enough to accuse me of hurting her... lets just say he'd regret it." Draco threatened lightly. Harry nodded. _

"_But I mean... you are going to hurt her. Everyone in the whole school knows about your initiation. If you're going to... well you know... how can you two be together?" He questioned. Draco starred at the wall for a few minutes before answering with a sad smile. _

"_We haven't really figured that part out yet." He shrugged. Harry waited a moment in pensive silence before speaking again. _

"_You don't have to do it." He said at last. Draco guffawed. _

"_Sure. Death is an option." He sarcastically rolled his eyes but Harry shook his head. _

"_You could become an Auror. Take the courses with me and Hermione." He suggested. Draco starred at him blankly for a moment. He'd never thought of that. Finally he smirked. _

"_Become an Auror. What a cruel irony. What a pretty price I'd fetch." He sniggered. To his surprise Harry smiled. _

"_It'd be dangerous. But you could be with Ginny." Harry stated. Draco was quiet for a long time after that. What a change going to the good side would be. What a liberation. _

"_It'd never work." He shook his head at Harry. "It's a nice dream, anyway." He hopped off the table he'd been sitting on and headed for the door. "We'll talk again soon Potter."_

Draco rubbed his eyes from the memory. An Auror. When he'd asked Ginny she hadn't wanted to say anything, but he could tell she was delighted by the idea. But how long could happiness ever last for them?

"Draco?" Ginny's sleepy voice sounded slightly panicked as she rolled over. He quickly shut the book and set it in the drawer but she was sitting up in the bed already.

"Are you reading the book?" She asked suspiciously.

"No. I was just thinking." He said hastily. She eyed him carefully.

"I'm sure. I'm going to have to take that thing away from you and give it back to you two weeks from now if you don't stop reading it." She came over and sat down on his lap. He smiled lazily at her. He brought a hand up to stroke her face gently and she leaned in to kiss him.

After a moment he picked her up and carried her back to the bed. He laid her down gently and she giggled up at him.

"What're you laughing at?" He chided. She pulled him down on top of her and he kissed her again. When he pulled away he looked down at her caringly.

"I heart you." He whispered.

"Sneak!" She accused, hitting him gently in the shoulder. He smiled at her and pulled the covers over both their heads, content to stay where they were for the rest of the night.

"Maybe, but I still heart you." He said as he began tickling her.

"Mercy!" She said as he continued tickling her. She finally sprung up and pressed her lips to his and he ceased his attack. She pulled away with a smug smile.

"That's cheating." He told her.

"You broke the rules first! Mercy means stop remember?" She scolded. He answered her with a kiss.

And they stayed that way until the sun came up.


	2. Breakfast Musing

_AN: Well, this has been a long time coming. This story is not a one shot adn will have some plot within the next couple chapters. So in the meantime, leave a review so i will be motivated to post the rest of the chapters / continue writting it. Thanks to my people who did review!_

Lazily, he moved his hand around the bed, feeling for the warmth that was Ginny. But he knew she was already gone. He hated waking up without her there. It always made him feel as though she'd never really been there at all.

He pushed himself up from his queen sized bed and walked to his bathroom. His head boy quarters were larger than the average dormitory, and they were just a little ways away from the Slytherin dorms. He walked around the room. Her things were all gone. She's taken the rose he'd gotten for her. She's obviously snuck back to her room with his invisibility cloak. He sighed. The room didn't even smell like her anymore.

But he always knew he wasn't dreaming when he'd get to breakfast and they'd share their looks and they'd steal each other away in between classes, and every night she'd come to his room... it was routine now, this little affair of theirs. He smiled, thinking how it was the only thing that remained unchanged in his life.

He dressed and headed down to the Slytherin common room. He looked around for Blaise and saw her sitting at a table in the far corner reading. He walked over to her and sat down across from her to wait for her to finish reading her page. Blaise was a pale skinned girl with black curly hair. She wore a purple chakra stone on her third eye and it matched her bright purple eyes. She was rather tuned out to ordinary life, and if people actually noticed her she'd be considered loonier than Lovegood. But Draco relished her unique opinion and perspective. When she finished what she was reading she glanced up at him and frown a bit.

"Your Aura's clouded. What have you gotten yourself into now?" She asked quietly. He smirked. His aura. Right.

"What am I usually in?" He said suggestively. She eyed him cautiously.

"It usually has to do with that mystery girl. Or a random Gryffindor. Or a--" she was about to list something else, but Draco cut her off before she could.

"You guessed it the first time." He stopped her short and she waited for him to continue, but he just rolled his eyes. "I've told you before; I don't have to tell you anything about it."

"True, you do not. It's your choice. Why do you insist then, and coming and visiting me all the time just to establish what we already know?" She picked up her book again.

"One of these days, I'll tell you." He patted her on the shoulder and looked at his watch. He was hungry, and there was nothing to accomplish in talking with her today. "I'll see you in class."

She muttered a farewell as he headed out the portrait whole and into the great hall. When he got there his eyes immediately sought out Ginny. She was sitting next to Harry and Hermione at the Gryffindor table, like always. She saw him and offered a small smile and he smiled back before going to his own table. He sat down next to Crab and Goyle, and began piling food onto his plate.

He and Ginny had been seeing each other for a little over a year now. It had all started when Dumbledork had initiated inter-house relationships. He made people from different houses become friends and mingle. When it had started, Draco had thought it was a ludicrously ridicules idea, and he refused to participate. So for three weeks, he and his partner had sat in a room for an hour every Saturday in silence. Needless to say, his partner was one flaming hair 6th year. When they'd finally started talking, it hadn't been pleasant. They'd bickered non-stop for another 3 weeks. Things had finally cooled down, and then Draco had seen here writing in her diary.

And so began his fascination with the book that was now sitting in his bedroom dresser drawer. Slowly, their bickering had turned friendly, and Draco had realized he'd come to have feelings for this girl. It wasn't too long before the kissing came, and the one hour a week turned into 2 hours a day.

She'd changed him. He began to realize it when he was around his housemates, or when he was around her git of a brother and his friends. Silently, he took back what he'd just thought. It was bad luck to jinx the dead. Anyway, she'd made him a better person without realizing it, and given him choices he's never even thought about. She hadn't changed everything of course. Some of his opinions were as strong as ever, if not stronger. But instead of making waves between the two of them, they simply didn't talk about those opinions.

But above all, she'd changed him by showing him love, and given him peace in times of war. He'd be forever grateful to her for that. But it seemed as though his biggest choice was yet to come. His choice between her and his father.

He realized then that he'd been starring at her, and he tore his gaze away to focus on his food.

When the Weasel had died two months ago at the hands of Peter Pettigrew, Ginny had locked herself in her room and had refused to come out. He'd flown up to her window and snuck in to be with her. She hadn't come out of her room for a week. And because it hurt her so much, Draco had taken it to personal offense. He'd gotten a book of revival from his father's library and began researching how to revive someone's spirit without offending the underworld. It hadn't been performed successfully since the dark ages, but Draco had the proper materials to do in, since most of his fathers books had been passed down in the family since time began.

He'd told Ginny about it, and then Potter. Together, they had planned to revive The Weasel King tonight. Potter had told Granger about their plan, but Draco suspected she didn't know it was his doing yet. And Draco also had a hunch that if they were desperate enough to trust him, they really needed Weasel back.


	3. He's Baack!

_AN: Long time coming, but here it is. Thanks for all the lovely reviews guys, they mean alot. I've had a bit of writters block with this story recently, but i think i'm past it. Hope those of you who hated me for killing off ron like this chapter!_

It was around midnight when Draco snuck out into the Forbidden forest. He suspected Ginny would be waiting for him when he got there, so he walked as quickly as he could, following the markings on the tree's. They had marked the tree's with little D's and G's so as not to get lost when trying to find their way though the night.

He was lugging an assortment of books with him, as well as many ceremonial tools they would need. He finally saw them all standing in the small clearing waiting for him. Ginny was sitting on a rock, and Granger and Potter were curled up in each others arms. But he also saw someone he did not expect.

Cassie Sanders, a Gryffindor, was standing next to Ginny looking down at what he supposed was the Weasels preserved body. Draco scowled. She wasn't supposed to be here.

"Draco!" Ginny leapt up, coming towards him. He hugged her tightly and bent down to kiss her.

He heard the Mudblood mumble "Ron would turn in his grave if he had one." Draco pulled away from Ginny, glared in the direction of Potter and Granger and finally looked back towards Sanders.

"What's she doing here?" He demanded. Ginny looked back as though noticing her for the first time.

"She was Ron's fiancée. She has as much right to be here as any of us." Ginny whispered fiercely, leaving no room for argument. Draco nodded and let it go, though he wasn't happy about it.

"Do you have the Mandrake root?" Draco looked at Harry pointedly, but it was Hermione who produced the vile. Draco took it from her and quickly set up the pentagram blanket. "Help me move him." He ordered.

Potter helped him get the Weasel in the middle of the pentagram. He then took the mandrake root and poured it down Weasley's throat, and a minute later he unfroze. They had prettified him to keep him preserved after he died, so that his body would not change.

As soon as the potion was down his throat the weasel's body went limp and lax on the ground.

"Alright, let's hurry. Ginny, stand at the point near his foot. Sanders, you take the other. Harry, you stand at his head. Hermione, stand near his left arm." Everyone did as they were told, and Draco opened up the spell book. "I'll take his right side." He mumbled, stepping into place. "You all have your items?"

Everyone held up something that linked them to Ron; for Harry it was Ron's wand, for Ginny it was one of his sweaters, for Cassie it was her engagement ring, and for Granger it was a picture of the golden trio. Harry nudged him.

"Here's yours." He mumbled, handing him an owl's feather. Draco nodded and took it.

"Alright," He looked over the spell one last time, making sure everything was in the right place. The moon was coming into position overhead. He snapped the book shut. "Everyone hold onto your items, but join hands. Repeat after me."

Everyone nodded, joined hands, and Draco took a very deep breath.

"_Adulescens ademptio decessus, iamdudum reddo abluo."_ His voice was quiet and unsteady at first, but as he continued he felt the air around him thicken, and he was suddenly more confident. He nodded to the people around him and closed his eyes.

"_Adulescens ademptio decessus, iamdudum reddo abluo."_ The all repeated in unison, unsteady and quiet, then louder and strong. _"Adulescens ademptio decessus, iamdudum reddo abluo. Adulescens ademptio decessus, iamdudum reddo abluo. Adulescens ademptio decessus, iamdudum reddo abluo!"_

They were screaming now, and the air around them was blowing wilding. Their hands were all clasped so tightly they were turning white, but Draco could feel the moon above them becoming brighter and brighter.

"_Adulescens ademptio decessus, iamdudum reddo abluo! Adulescens ademptio decessus, iamdudum reddo abluo! Adulescens ademptio decessus, iamdudum reddo abluo!" _

It felt as though they were in a tornado, the wind swirling around them, and Draco was sure he could hear voices other than their own in the wind.

"_Adulescens ademptio decessus, iamdudum reddo abluo!" _

Finally, in one last shout, Draco felt a large amount of energy leave him and be pulled to the center with a round of gasps. Then suddenly it came back like a bursting of warmth in his chest. He opened his eyes to see the Weasel on the ground with his eyes open… and breathing.

The wind around them quieted, the moon's light diminished, and they were left in the pitch blackness of the forbidden forest. Suddenly everyone let their hands drop as Ron sat up, and Ginny and Cassie were on him in a minute.

Cassie was crying and kissing him, and Ginny was holding onto his hand. It seemed to take a minute for it to sink in for Potter and Granger, but they grabbed each other in a fierce hug and then dropped to their knees next to their friend. The Weasel seemed to know exactly what was going on as he was trying to comfort his girlfriend while saying that he couldn't believe they'd done it.

Draco rolled his eyes. "I've probably just sold my soul for him, and do I even get thanks? No, not so much as a bloody post card." He shook his head and looked one last time at the brilliant smile on his Ginny's face before turning around and beginning to walk back to the castle.

Ginny apparently noticed his absence however, because she quickly followed him. "Draco! Wait!" She called. He turned and waited for her to catch up to him. When she did, he smirked.

"Are you alright?" He asked, reaching up to brush away a tear from her face. She nodded, throwing herself on him.

"Thank you." She whispered, hugging him for dear life. "Thank you so much. Thank you, thank you, thanks you."

Draco held onto her as though he would never let her go. "Your welcome."


	4. Leaving On a Jet Plane

_AN: So this chapter took a very long time, but it's emotional and probably one of the saddest onces. The song is Leaving On A Jet Plane by John Denver, but redone by Chantal Kreviazuk, which is the versionI used. Enjoy!_

The next day at school was a regular riot. With the Weasel back there had been an uprising. His parents had flooed in, and even Dumbledore had appeared slightly bemused when Weasley showed up to breakfast. The story they had come up with was that Weasel had faked his own death to protect his family and get information from the death eaters. Or some nonsense like that. Sitting there at lunch, Draco scowled across the great hall. He'd been perfectly happy to give Ginny her brother back, but at the same time it irked him to no end. The trio was back together. Whoopi.

And the worst part? Not a one of them had thanked him. Not one. Little bunch of ingrates. Draco picked up his books and things and began walking from the great hall. There was still a little bit of lunch left, and if he was lucky he might be able to cram in a nap before the day was over. Better than watching every living and non living member of the great hall fawn over the Weasel all day.

He began walking towards the dungeons feeling dejected by just about everyone, and making a silent promise to never be nice to anyone ever again. It would work out since he was only even nice to Ginny and after this week he'd never see her again.

Continuing to vent in his mind, Draco didn't hear the footsteps behind him until a hand touched his shoulder. Draco spun around, wand ready, only to knock the tall red head several feet back from him with his hands held up in a defensive gesture. Draco raised an eyebrow at the Weasel, but didn't put his wand away.

"Woo, mate. Didn't mean to startle you." Ron began, backing away ever so slightly. "Didn't know if I was going to catch you alone at any other time. Had to take my chances." He laughed nervously, and Draco was suddenly curious as to why the Weasel had followed him.

He put away his wand cautiously. "What do you want Weasel?"

Ron seemed to straighten up to his full impressive height of 5'6 before answering. Draco was still taller than him though. "I just… well I… Ginny told me everything. And I saw everything from where I was… strange place heaven. But I'm not supposed to tell you that. I just wanted to say… well I…" He seemed incredibly nervous and kept stumbling around his words.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Did you come here to say something, or are you simply trying to bore me with your incessant babble?" He said coarsely. Ron's cheeks grew slightly pinkish in anger.

"I don't know what Ginny sees in you Malfoy." He said quietly before sighing and dropping his head. "I just came… to… to thank you I suppose. For what you did. We all know you didn't have to do it."

Draco was slightly amused by the Weasel, and at the same time he felt a little gratified if not shocked that he was actually receiving some credit for his actions.

"Well. I did it for Ginny, but you're welcome." He answered curtly. Ron nodded at this, but neither of them moved. Draco smirked. "So you saw everything?" He asked a little smugly.

To his surprise, Ron smirked back. "Everything. Why do you think I haven't tried to hex you into next century yet?"

"Well, that thought had crossed my mind. So you're all right with it then?" Draco asked, unsure why he cared so much. Ron furrowed his brow in thought.

"I suppose that depends." He answered, looking at the floor.

"On what?"

"On which side you choose. If you join us… then yeah, I can live with that. But if you're against us…" He left the sentence open, and Draco knew it was a threat, however subtle it may be. "So are you with us, or are you against us?"

Draco thought for a long moment. The two of them locked gazes. Shadowy gray eyes warred with light blue ones for what was an eternity, and then Ron seemed to understand, and he lowered his gaze. Draco continued starring at him, knowing that the Weasel knew the answer.

"Well. For now, I am in your debt, soul to the devil or not." Ron said, holding out a hand. Draco looked at it for a minute, as thought the Weasel was offering some kind of friendship. Only Draco knew he couldn't accept it. But he took the hand anyways.

"This doesn't change anything you know." He warned. "After this week, I'm still your enemy."

Ron starred him down for another moment, still holding onto his hand. "We'll see." He said. He dropped Draco's hand and walked away, back towards the great hall.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Later that day, Draco had decided to go for a walk. He was walking along the lake when this time he heard the footsteps coming up behind him. But these he recognized. Ginny jogged up beside him a moment later.

"Hey." She said a little breathlessly. She flashed him a smile, and he smirked at her. Not his usual smirk, but his one that was reserved for her. The one that was actually happy.

"Hey beautiful." He answered.

"Whatcha doing?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. He shrugged.

"Just walking. Thinking." He answered, letting his gaze travel the grounds again. There was no one around as it was getting late, and a little cold.

Ginny wrapped her arms around her self in the unusual cold. "About what?"

Draco unwrapped his cloak from his own shoulders and swished it around hers and she took it without protest. "We leave tomorrow you know." He said casually, quietly. The air around them grew heavy and he knew what Ginny was thinking.

"You haven't decided to stay then." She stated, her voice emotionless. Draco realized belatedly that they had stopped walking at the top of a hill. He looked around him, at the castle in which he had spent seven years of his life, at the lake, at the countryside surrounding the grounds, and finally into the blackness of the forest. His eyes steadied on that place. It was the one pit of darkness in an area of great light. It was the thing reminding him that the darkness would always find him.

"Draco?" Ginny questioned again, turning her head to look at him. He could tell she was crying, but he wasn't particularly sure why. It had been a nice dream for a while. But they both knew it had to end.

"Ginny… We both know it would never work." He turned towards her, keeping his cool exterior in tact. She clutched the cloak tighter around her as the tears rolls down her cheeks, and Draco, damn him, remained calm at her side.

"I don't want you to leave me." She pleaded, turning to face him. They stood that way, starring into each others eyes for a long moment, Ginny too scared to move toward him and Draco too scared to move away. Finally Draco stepped toward her one more time and she fell into his arms.

_All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go,  
__I'm standing here outside the door  
__I hate to wake you up to say goodbye._

Darkness surrounded them, and Draco held Ginny as she cried until no more tears would come and she choked on her sobs. He pulled his cloak around her, protecting her from the enclosing darkness that neither the stars nor the moon could keep away.

"You can't leave me. I promise it would be okay, I promise it could work out, we could make it work. You can't leave." She pleaded again. He pulled away only slightly and took her face in his hands.

"I want you to remember…" He took some deep breaths, finding himself close to crying as well. "Remember that no matter what happens," He pulled her close again burying his head next to her ear. "No matter how far apart we are, no matter what keeps us apart, I will always love you. Nothing, not even time will ever change that. Please remember that."

He pulled away once more to look her in the eyes and she nodded, closing his mouth with her own. He felt the wetness on his cheeks and wasn't quite sure what it was, remembering from long ago what it felt like to cry. They pulled away and Ginny despite herself smiled and reached up to his cheeks.

"Draco. You're crying." She said quietly, almost happily. His hand reached up and held hers, and they pulled each other once more into a tight embrace.

And as the sun began to rise over the hills it occurred to his how long a short moment like this could be. He pulled away from Ginny, looking around him at the grounds in the new light once again.

_But the dawn is breakin', it's early morn',  
__The Taxi's waitin', he's blown his horn.  
__Already I'm so lonesome I could die._

And so they parted, saying a final goodbye and went their separate ways.

As morning came and Draco packed up his room, he found a great emptiness inside him grow. Leaving this place was not the start of a new life, but the condemning of an old one.

He opened up the bottom drawer of his dresser once more and pulled out the small, red, leather bound book and sat on his bed holding it close, knowing that things would never be the same.

As he remembered the night before he wished for a moment that he had chosen differently, but reality sunk in and he knew that the choice had never been his own.

As he exited the dungeons with his trunk behind him, he felt an odd pair of eyes watching him. He turned to see Harry and Ginny waiting for him in the shadows. He dropped his trunk and went to them without question.

"This is for you." Harry thrust a coin into his hand. Draco looked at it. It was a fake Galleon. "Use it, should you ever need us. We trust you, whether it's the smart thing or not. Good luck, Draco."

Much to Draco's surprise, the hand he had held out for Harry to shake was pushed aside, and Harry pulled him into a friendly hug. For the first time in his life, he accepted Harry's friendship.

Harry pulled away and turned to Ginny briefly. "I'll be waiting for you." He said and walked away down the corridor and out of sight.

Draco turned back to Ginny after watching him go. He looked at the fake Galleon in his hand and then back to Ginny. She smiled briefly at him before looking down once more.

"I guess I'll be seeing you." She stated. Without another thought or word, he moved close to her, took her chin in his hand and brought his lips down to hers.

_So kiss me and smile for me,  
__Tell me that you'll wait for me,  
__Hold me like you never let me go._

They pulled apart and Ginny nodded once more. "I'll be waiting for you, Draco Malfoy. Don't you let me down." She ordered, a single tear rolling down her cheek. Then she turned from him and began to walk away. Before he could stop himself he called out to her.

"Ginny!" He was about to tell her goodbye one last time but she whirled around and stopped him.

"Don't you say goodbye. It's to final. I will see you again. Someday." She promised fiercely.

He starred at her for a very long time before finally nodding and agreeing, "Someday."

Then she turned and walked right out of his life.

_'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane  
__I don't know when I'll be back again  
__Oh, babe, I hate to go… _

He loaded his bag onto the Hogwarts express and boarded, not paying much attention to anything accept the hot coin in his hand. He joins the compartment in which Blaise, Crab, Goyle and Knott all were and took a seat next to the window.

The train took off and he watched the familiar grounds speed away before his eyes. This was his last journey on the Hogwarts express, and while for a long time he'd thought this would make him happy, it was the saddest he'd ever felt.

Across from him, Blaise was staring at him with a concerned and knowing expression.

"Are you going to miss it?" She asked at last. Draco looked at her, then back at the zooming countryside and back to her again.

"Yes. Very much."

_There's so many times I've let you down  
__So many times I've played around  
__I'll tell you now, they don't mean a thing…_

After a long trip in which he neglected his prefect duties completely, the train pulled into the station. Draco sat there, watching as many student jumped off the train and onto the platform to be greeted by loving parents and families. The first years were trading addresses and saying goodbyes and leaving quickly, while the seventh years seemed to linger.

"Are you coming or not?" He heard Blaise ask. He turned back to look at her, and realized that everyone but the two of them had emptied the compartment, and he wondered what would happen if he just refused to leave the train and let it carry him back to Hogwarts once more.

But he stood and grabbed his things and carried them out. He got ahead of Blaise as they stepped off the train and he stopped abruptly, causing her to collide with him only slightly. He felt her eyes on him from behind but didn't care. What he was looking at was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen or would ever see again.

Ginny was standing with her many brothers and parents and friends, smiling widely and laughing with them. She was discussing something with her oldest brother when she seemed to sense him and she turned just slightly to glance at him.

Their eyes locked and the wave of understanding once more washed over him, followed by the wave of dread for what waited for him only a little ways away. She offered him a smile and turned back to her family.

_Every place I go, I think of you  
__Every song I sing, I sing for you  
__When I come back I'll wear your wedding ring._

_So kiss me and smile for me  
__Tell me that you'll wait for me  
__Hold me like you'll never let me go  
__'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane  
__I don't know when I'll be back again  
__Oh, babe, I hate to go_

He sighed and turned back to Blaise who was watching where he had been and giving him a knowing look.

"You knew all along didn't you? I didn't have to tell you a thing." He said quietly and Blaise nodded slowly, not dropping his gaze. Her caring eyes penetrated him and he knew that for a moment, he had a friend in his darkness. He was not the only one suffering because of the choices that had been made for him.

"You're fathers waiting for you." She nodded over his shoulder and Draco nodded, not daring to look over his shoulder.

"Thanks Blaise." He whispered, and he pulled her into a loose hug which, for a girl who didn't like being touched, was very warming.

He pulled away once more, turned and headed for his father.

"Draco." His father said curtly.

"Father." Draco answered.

"Come, we're going now." He ordered, turning swiftly and heading for the portal. Draco followed just a little more slowly, knowing exactly where he was going from years of habit. He followed his father through the portal and there once again he saw the Weasley crew heading the opposite way. Ginny was walking backwards, starring at him.

_Now the time has come to leave you  
__One more time, oh, let me kiss you  
__And close your eyes and I'll be on my way  
__Dream about the days to come  
__When I won't have to leave alone  
__About the times that I won't have to say... _

He starred at her as he walked and she starred back. A part of him wanted to run to her, sweep her up in his arms and keep her there forever. But a part of him knew that that would never happen. And so he walked away.

And he didn't look back.

_Oh, kiss me and smile for me  
__Tell me that you'll wait for me  
__Hold me like you'll never let me go  
__'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane  
__I don't know when I'll be back again  
__Oh, babe, I hate to go_

_And I'm leaving on a jet plane  
__I don't know when I'll be back again  
__Oh, babe, I hate to go…_

_But I'm leaving on a jet plane_

_Leaving on a jet plane_

_Leaving on a jet plane_

_Leaving on a jet plane  
__On a jet plane…_


	5. Waking Up To War

_AN: Tada! Okay, so i had the concept for the rest of this story in my head, but i wasnt planning on finishing it. i was just gonna leave it on the jet plane, but all the cool reviews convinced me to keep going! This is where the story takes a bit of a dark turn, and there will probably be several dark chapters before you see any romantic action. but keep reviewing so they get written!_

War is a cold thing. It doesn't breath. It doesn't feel. It doesn't want anything, or need anything. All it does is kill. Lots of killing. That's all war needs. It kills through knives, weapons, wands, hatred, fear, starvation, torture… and there are many other ways a man can die. Many ways most men will never understand.

Draco tossed and turned in his bed, which was nothing more than two hay bells with a blanket draped over them, and another blanket for warmth. He used his arm as a pillow and held his wand tightly in his hand. Pressing into his side and attached tightly to his leg was a worn, red, leather book. In the pocket of his cloak was one fake gold galleon. Next to his bed was a single change of clothes and several magic weapons, as well as a single white mask. These were all the possessions he owned.

He was 24 now, cold and tired from a long struggle. Draco starred blankly ahead, unable to close his eyes after the day, afraid of seeing all the faces of the people he'd killed. Especially tonight.

His tattoo was hurting more so than usual tonight, but it did not surprise him. Dark marks always flared up on the anniversary of the night they were given. The cut across his right eye (which was quickly turning into a scar) was throbbing painfully, willing him to close his eyes, but he refused. Darkness surrounded him and his sleeping companions, the same ones he had always known. Sharing his room with him now was Gregory Goyle and Geoffrey Nott. The empty bed directly to his left was once occupied by the deceased Vincent Crabbe, whom Draco himself had been given the task of killing.

Draco stood from his bed, book securely fastened to his side and wand tightly gripped in his hand. He walked out from the tent to where the fires were still burning. A few Death Eaters were milling about. The sky was dark, with a ting of grey to the east, signaling the coming sunrise. Most fires had gone out, accept for those well kept by their makers. The tents spanned for miles around him, all filled with sleeping Death Eaters.

Draco looked cautiously around him before spotting a head he recognized, bent carefully over a book with a quill in hand. The black curly hair which had once hung brightly around a pale but delicate face was now limp and tangled, and the pale face of a once pretty girl was ashed and thin. The purple eyes remained calm and collected, as the purple charka stone which had once only been attached by a simple adhering spell was now permanently engrained on her forehead glittered. She didn't look up as he sat beside her, instead kept to her writing, though she knew who it was.

"I'm almost done with yesterday. Why aren't you sleeping?" She asked, never slowing her quill.

"Can't." He answered, poking the fire absently.

"Can too. You should heal that eye. It looks gruesome." She commented dryly. Draco rolled his eyes, knowing she was concerned for him, but not caring all the same. It would heal in time, like all wounds. For now, the pain was grounding.

"Why do you bother with that book anyway? Why would anyone want to read the diary of a Death Eater?" He asked, poking the pages of the rather large leather book. It was in good condition, considering all it had been through.

"Why not? Someone should document this war from our side, and I figure I'm the best one for the job. Years from now, they'll be teaching children about this war in Hogwarts, and it would be best if they heard the story from both sides accurately." She closed the book and stopped writing. She wrapped its leather casing around itself and tied it, sealing it with a simple spell. "This war will never be forgotten, nor the people who fought it. No matter the outcome, someone should know what happened here. Just as the people on the other side keep their records, we'll keep ours." She set the book aside calmly and looked up at him for the first time. "You look terrible."

"Thank you. You look lovely yourself." He tossed the stick at her half heartedly.

"Why aren't you sleeping? You need it, you know." She spoke quietly, with a dry humor that Draco sometimes appreciated and others ignored.

"Why aren't you sleeping then?" He asked, picking up his stick and poking the fire again.

"Because I don't need it. I'm a Zeel, remember?" Zeels were creatures that never slept. They were rare, and often discriminated against in the wizarding world. Draco hadn't known Blaise was a Zeel until they had lived together in the Death Eater camp. Zeels, like humans, needed to replenish their body, but they did it through meditation, which didn't take long at all. Purple eyes were a Zeel trademark.

Draco scoffed. "Why am I not sleeping Zabini? You tell me. You're good at that." He whispered quietly, staring at the fire.

"Do you think he actually did it? That he was working for Dumbledore?" She asked, following his gaze.

Draco sighed. "I don't know." He was quiet for a moment. "I can see him with my waking eyes, staring back at me. Pleading. I'd never seen something quite so pathetic in all my life." He tossed the stick into the fire.

"He was… a good friend, nonetheless. I'm sorry Draco." She didn't move or look at him, and neither did he.

"At night I see them. Every person I've killed. The men, the women… the children. They're waiting for me." He paused, unsure. Blaise stood, grabbing her book and her wand.

She turned. "They're waiting for us all."

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

"_No… no. It isn't true! If it's anyone, it isn't me. I've always been loyal! I'd never betray--" The desperate screams were cut off by another. _

"_Crucio!" The word echoed around the camp. For a moment, all action stopped in the camp, as the desperate screamed of the young man were heard. Some relished them; others shook in their private terror. Lucious Malfoy walked out of the tent and looked around. _

"_Let it be known, that no one is to enter here, no matter the screams. No one shall disturb his… peace of mind." He stalked away and out of sight. _

_And there Vincent stayed for weeks. Lucious lightened the spell and allowed Crabbe to be put on public display as an example to other Death Eaters. The pain of the spell drove him mad. During his lighter periods of punishment he could form words, but the seven syllables of the counter-spell were at all times beyond him. _

_When Draco was younger, he had thought they were bigger somehow; these people who'd managed to rise above petty rules and reach out their hands to grasp the power that was there for the taking. But here they were, giggling like naughty schoolboys kicking a puppy. It was terrible. _

_One particular night, Draco walked up to the platform where they had Crabbe tied up. He stood, watching him for a few moments, until Crabbe sensed his presence and looked up. _

"_Help me." He whispered. Draco felt a sliver of pity for him. He wasn't even sure if Vincent knew who he was at that point. He watched him for a moment, wondering what it must be like, until Crabbe squealed in pain, and Draco turned to face his father, wand in hand. _

"_Kill him." His father said simply. Draco blinked, and waited. _

"_Why should I--" _

"_Because you're the only one who has any pity for him." Lucious said malevolently. Draco glared and pulled out his wand, knowing that if he didn't, his own father would put him to the same fate as Crabbe. "Not that way." _

_Lucious tossed him a muggle knife, free of any enchantments. _

"_Do it the old way. For pity's sake." His father egged him on only a little, but it was enough. _

_As Draco held the knife and stepped towards Vincent, Vincent began to panic. _

"_No! I haven't done it! I haven't done anything! Let me go home! Let me go home to mama! No more! I've one nothing! NOTHING!" _

Draco shot awake. He'd fallen asleep next to the warm fire. It was barely past daylight. He looked around to see everyone heading in the direction of the lead; men who were considered superior and in charge. He began to follow them.

At the lead, a man was already speaking on top of the platform. He had his mask on, but Draco recognized the voice of Nott's father. He found the short figure of Blaise quickly enough.

"What's been said?" He whispered to her.

"We're moving on. The camp in Northborough has been discovered. Half the camps been assigned there, and the rest are going on to the siege." She whispered back. He noticed few Death Eaters were wearing masks at this point, but they would all be wearing them soon.

"The siege?" He whispered back.

"They haven't said where." She answered the unasked question while still watching the man in front.

"We move in an hour! Check your list, and begin preparations, patrons to the Dark Lord!" The man stepped down and the meeting ended.

Draco and Blaise headed towards the lists. Draco spoke his name to the two pieces of paper posted, and _Siege _appeared across the right one. Blaise did the same, and _Siege_ appeared for her too.

Draco and Blaise exchanged looks and parted to begin to pack their few belongings and take down the camp.

In an hour, all that was left were a few fire pits and the covered footprints of a hundred men.


	6. NightNim

The journey started out heading west across open lands. They avoided major cities and muggle communities. They traveled at a swift jog, and for a few of the older men this was difficult. After about an hour the party split into two groups; one heading north to Northborough, and the other heading south towards the Siege.

Draco jogged next to Blaise and Geoffrey Nott as the company split. Goyle was going to Northborough.

"Where are we going anyway?" He whispered to no one in particular.

"No one knows. The rumor is that we're going to Savenright camp, outside of Hogwarts." Blaise answered quietly from beside him.

"Well," Geoffrey said from his other side, "I'd prefer Savenright, personally."

"Let's just hope it isn't NightNim." Draco picked up his pace slightly, but the company came to an abrupt halt. All was quiet, and Draco drew his wand.

They waited, stiff and still under the concealment spell surrounding them. Then a single beam of green light shot unto them, and a man several feet above fell over dead.

They scattered in an effort to fight off the oncoming attack. Some dropped to the ground, others behind rocks, and several brave ones ran off into the nearby forest. Draco and Nott began to run to the forest as a beam of red light whizzed past his head, swirling up his shoulder length hair. They made it in and began positioning themselves for the trap when the Aurors came into the forest.

It wasn't long before a few Aurors were entering the forest cautiously. Draco waited until the last one was within reach. When he was, Draco reached out and grabbed him from behind, putting his wand to his throat.

"Don't move Auror." Draco whispered. He waited until the others were out of sight before spinning the man around with full intent of questioning and killing him. But he saw the face and hair, and he froze.

"You." Charlie spoke slowly, astonished. Draco still had his wand to his throat, but he couldn't decide what to do. "They said you were good, but I never believed it."

"Good." Draco said decisively. "Can't trust anyone these days. Petrificus Totalus!" He shouted. Charlie dropped to the ground and Draco turned away from him, knowing he could never take his life. He stopped when he bumped into Nott, who was staring at him as thought he couldn't be happier.

"Traitor." He whispered.

"You keep my secrets Nott, just as I've kept yours." Draco warned. Nott's face contorted for a moment and then he nodded. Nott was married secretly to a healer working with the Aurors by the name of Anna Deyeti, and there had been only two witnesses at the ceremony; Draco Malfoy, and Vincent Crabbe.

They began to head cautiously back out of the forest with their other companions to see the other Death Eaters surrounding the few remaining Aurors. There hadn't been many to begin with, and there were barely 4 left.

Draco's father had just disarmed them all of their wands, and he was beginning to ask questions, though none would answer. Frustrated, Lucius pulled a dagger from his side and slit their throats, one by one.

"Leave the dead. Let's go." Lucius took off at a run in the direction they had originally been marching and everyone soon followed suit. Draco looked around him at the fallen Aurors, and the few dead Death Eaters. He saw only one face he recognized; the grim face of a Ravenclaw seeker he had once known. Cho Chang.

He dismissed it and kept moving, only once glancing back into the forest behind him where one living person remained.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

They walked without rest for 4 more days before they reached their destinations, which against their hopes had turned out to be NightNim. NightNim was the basis for experimental torture. This was where they brought all of the captured Aurors who could provide them with information. They brought the abducted muggles here as well. No one that entered the camp ever left it in one piece.

The camp itself was complex. There were high walls surrounding a large castle, which was where they kept prisoners. It was a gruesome place; screams could be heard at all times throughout the day and night, and when the Death Eaters stationed there weren't working, they were drinking.

What was worse, this was where the Dark Lord himself was said to stay. Up in the high towers, alone.

Draco, Nott, Blaise and the others headed inside the gates and waited for instructions.

"So this is NightNim…" Nott mused. "Hardly impressive." He scoffed, looking at the shabby housing and tents around them.

"Someone ought to teach you to respect your superiors, boy." A deep, husky voice off to their side caught their attention. It sounded mocking, and Draco had readied his wand before he recognized the bearded face.

Standing there with a shaggy beard and a few extra pounds was none other than Marcus Flint. Draco smirked back at him as friendly as he could manage. Flint held out a hand. "Bout time you boys showed up here. Come on, your units with me."

Draco shook his hand and then followed him to the eastern side of the camp.

"It's a bit grimy, but it does suffice. We watch that road there, the one leading into the forest." He pointed to a gate which at the moment stood open, with several guards at it. "Feel free to make yourselves at home boys! And of course, ladies." He caught sight of Blaise and winked. Blaise gave him a blank stare.

Marcus turned and appeared to be going about his business. The 20 or so new comers set up their part of camp and began to settle in, but Draco walked cautiously up to Flint, studying the castle.

"Where is he?" He asked his old friend. Marcus turned and raised an eyebrow.

"Who?" He asked slowly. They exchanged looks, and Marcus grinned. "Don't really know. They say he hides out at the top towers, in the only room without an apparition ward. Don't ask me why. Perhaps he thinks it's a quick getaway, if we're discovered."

Draco yawned.

"Long journey? Too bad you won't be getting much sleep tonight either." He commented, but Draco raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean? What's going on tonight?"

"New initiations. They've had the young ones in the castle preparing all day." Marcus appeared to be washing something, though Draco couldn't figure out what.

"And does everyone have to attend?" He asked sarcastically. Marcus eyed him suspiciously.

"Usually yes. But you'll have to, you being practically royalty and all." He grinned widely, but Draco only looked at him curiously. "You don't know? Strange, I thought your father would have told you. The Dark Lord has taken your mothers sister, Bellatrix, to be his bride. They're getting married in December."

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Later that night, once the sun had gone down and the moon had fully risen, every Death Eater in the camp was gathered inside the castle walls to witness the initiation of 8 new Death Eaters, by the Dark Lord himself.

Draco could recall pieces of his own initiation, but it had been private, with family members only, and it hadn't been done by the Dark Lord. It had been done by his father, those few years ago. These few students must have been privately trained by their Death Eater parents, because the school year was not over. Although these children didn't look old enough to have graduated.

Sitting at the front of the hall was Lord Voldemort himself, wrapped tightly in his black clothing. Next to him, looking particularly amused was Bellatrix Lestrange, soon to be Lady Voldemort. She was dressed in dark red ceremonial robes, but the hollowness he had sensed in her after Azkaban was still there. Bellatrix had found at last her own path to power, straight through the Dark Lord. Draco wondered what she had done to get there.

Slowly, the 8 children marched through the ranks of Death Eaters, all masked. The children were dressed in black ceremonial robes and each carried a candle in their two hands. The boy in the lead was large and well built; he looked strong. The two boys after him looked fragile, almost scared, though they tried to hide it. The girl after them had blond hair, and her eyes were wide; she was the one wishing she wasn't there. The next three were boys, all with brave faces, and one with extremely long black hair, and had Draco not known who he was he would have assumed it was another girl. The girl after them had long black hair, and she walked proudly and sure of herself. Finally, there was a fat pudgy boy at the end of the line. All of them looked much too young for this.

They lined up at the front of the hall before the Dark Lord, who looked pleased.

"Take a knee." He ordered. They did as they were told. "You have pledged your lives to me. You have given your soul to the darkness to serve me. You fight for me and the ways of the Death Eaters. Are there any here who would stop this commencement?" He paused only a second. "Then bare your left arm." The 8 did as they were told. Voldemort raised his wand, and Draco turned his head away.

"Morsmordre Madem!" He shouted. There were several bright flashes of light. Draco turned his head back to see the burning scars of the Dark Mark engraving themselves into the initiates flesh. Several of them, like the black haired girl and a few of the boys took it without faze. Their faces remained perfectly calm. But the others… the blond girl's eyes were wider then before, and they were tearing up. The fat boy at the end began to whimper, and one of the scrawny boys collapsed.

Voldemort was not pleased. He kicked the collapsed boy so that he sat upright again, and he smacked the whimpering one several times across the face. He ignored the girl.

"Now rise Death Eaters!" They did as they were told and one by one, they walked out of the castle and back to their tent.

Voldemort dismissed the rest of the Death Eaters and they were soon heading out the doors. Draco tore off with Blaise close behind him. He knew she was watching him curiously.

"They were much too young." He said, coming to a stop and taking off his mask.

"They aren't much younger than we were." She pointed out. She kept walking, but she took off her mask. He walked beside her for a moment more, before scowling at his mask and quickening his pace.

"We were too young."


	7. Terms of Agreement

_AN: Hey all! another blissful chapter. this story is well on it's way to being done, and i'm planning a sequal to it already! i hope you guys are enjoying, and even those of you who dont choose to leave reviews but are subscribed to the story, thanks so much!_

For 5 months they stayed at NightNim, slowly falling into the routine. Units traded responsibility frequently and it wasn't long before Draco had worked everywhere in the camp; from the walls, to the washing, to the guarding, to the torture chambers. While it was no pleasure cruise, he found himself slowly beginning to feel more and more at home, and it worried him. They got constant new people to the camp; there must have been nearly a thousand there by now.

As compared to everywhere else, this camp was relatively calm, and after a while one grew used to the constant sounds of torture going on around him.

Blaise continued to document each day in her large book, to which she was now adding pages. Of course, there was not much to document now.

Draco heaved himself down onto his bed once it was night. There was no one else around, so he pulled out the familiar red journal and began to read pages he had read a thousand times.

_"For the memory of love is sweet, though the love itself were in vain. And what I have lost of pleasure, assuage what I find of pain." - Lyster _

_Diary, _

_Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it's cracked up to be. That's why people are so cynical about it. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more. I should know about risks. I'm risking everything I've ever thought I was, to be someone I never knew existed. Confused? Welcome to my world. He just… makes me feel like a new person. A beautiful, creative, love-worthy person. I've never experienced anything like it before. But I think its love. And if it is, I am willing to risk everything for it. I just hope he is too. _

_Ginny _

_"Forget love, I'd rather fall in chocolate!" - Cassie_

He sighed, skimming through the pages. He had every inch of this Diary engraved in his head, so it didn't really matter if he had the diary or not any more. But he kept it, despite the risks, because without it he was afraid he might end up thinking the entire thing hadn't been real. And if none of it had been real, he wouldn't feel so torn about all the horrible things he'd done.

He flipped to the last page, which had one page of writing, and a picture of Ginny attached to the back cover.

_"Love is as much of an object as an obsession, everybody wants it, everybody seeks it, but few ever achieve it, those who do will cherish it, be lost in it, and among all, never... never forget it." - Curtis Judalet _

_Draco, _

_I will never love anyone but you. I hope you know that. This book belongs to you now. Do with it what you wish. I only hope that you cared for me as deeply as I cared for you. I will never stop loving you Draco. If ever you should need me, I will be there. All you have to do is find me. _

_Love, _

_Ginny _

_"It is with true love as it is with ghosts; everyone talks about it, but few have seen it." - Francois De La Rochefoucauld _

Draco closed the book slowly, closing his eyes and imagining for a brief moment that she was close to him. The scent of her hair wafting around him, her delicate figure lying beside him, her slow shallow breathing in time with his own.

"Malfoy!" Nott burst through the opening to the tent and Draco startled, dropping the book inside his robes. "Get up; your father wants words with you."

"What? Why?" Draco stood, still holding the book behind him.

Nott shook his head. "He wouldn't say. But he seemed happy, so best to get down there before you raise his temper by making him wait." He backed away through the curtains and left Draco alone.

Draco quickly fastened the book to his leg and straitened his clothing. He grabbed his wand and headed out of the tent. It was dark now, probably close to midnight. The camp fires were going, and like most nights around here, almost everyone was gathered around them, drinking and feasting. This whole war was a game for them.

He walked through the tents up to the lead tents, which were rather larger than the rest. He found his fathers fairly quickly considering he hadn't been to see him in the 5 months they had been there, but the Malfoy emblem on the front of the tent was hard to miss. He walked inside.

His father was sitting at a desk writing a letter of some kind. "Come in Draco, have a seat." He ordered. Like Nott had said, he seemed in a pleasant enough mood, so Draco doubted it had anything to do with something he had done. His father had called him here to ask something of him, he just wasn't sure what.

The last time they had spoken, it had ended with the death of Vincent Crabbe.

Lucius put down his quill and rolled up the parchment. He pushed it aside and turned to face Draco, who was only now sitting down.

"You're what now Draco? 25?" He asked, placing his fingers together in his lap.

"24." Draco corrected. Lucius nodded.

"Right, 24. Why, you're all grown up. I'd hardly noticed." He paused, judging Draco. Draco shot back an icy cool look of confidence. "Draco, you're a Malfoy, and as a Malfoy, you are destined for great things. You could be very powerful. You will be very powerful. The Dark Lord likes you, always has. You need to be ready to accept whatever power he's going to give you."

"I don't want power." Draco stated simply.

"Every man wants power." Lucius shot back.

"I don't." There was a moment of tense silence in which Lucius judged his sons intentions and Draco judged his fathers. Lucius smirked.

"No, I suppose you don't. But with your age comes responsibilities. Responsibilities you don't have yet." He stood and walked to the wall of the tent, which looked like stone on the inside. He ran a finger over a mantle holding various items. "Blaise Zabini, you know her, yes?"

"Yes." Draco answered, not daring to say anymore than his father asked.

"What do you think of her?" He wasn't looking at Draco, instead straightening out an already straight arrangement of items.

"She's loyal, and trustworthy. She… handles responsibility well. If your asking where her loyalties lie, they are with her father, nothing more." He answered. He found himself suddenly afraid for his friend's life.

"Only to her father? So, whatever her father wishes, she does? What about you? What does she think of you?" He turned to face him at last, curiosity carefully pulled over his features.

"We're… friends, I suppose. We've been in the same unit since we were initiated."

"And, do you like her?" He picked up his old serpents cane and examined it carefully, as thought not to show any interest in the conversation taking place.

"We're friends. What else is there to say?" Draco stood as well, following his father to the mantle and picking up a glass ball.

Lucius smiled. "She's fairly pretty, is she not? And of good family. Purebloods, all of them. Zeels yes, but that can be lived with." Lucius replaced his cane on the shelf. Draco's grip on the glass ball suddenly tightened as he turned to face his father.

"What are you implying?" He asked. Lucius stared back at him with a fierce intensity.

"I've come to an agreement with Blaise's father." He walked back over to his desk and picked up a parchment.

Realization clicked in Draco's mind, and the glass ball in his hand shattered. He turned to his father as collected as he could, letting the glass shards fall to the ground.

"You want me to marry her, don't you?" Stunned as he was, he did not let it show on his face. His father glanced back at him curiously.

"Arranged marriages have been going on in this family for years Draco. Your mother and I were chosen for each other by our fathers. And, it is your duty as a Malfoy to carry on the family line. You knew this day would come. I couldn't let you waste the good years of your life here in this camp as a bachelor, could I?" He looked back to the parchment and scribbled something down.

Draco said nothing, but stood glaring at his father. The dull pain in his hand where the glass had pierced his skin felt like nothing compared to the heaviness of his heart.

Lucius looked back up. "All you have to do is sign." He pushed a parchment which Draco realized was a marital agreement toward him with a quill. He hesitated.

After all, what were the odds he would ever see Ginny again? And if he refused, what would his father do to him? He could live with Blaise, but he knew he would never love her. She knew that too. And if she agreed…

He looked back up at the watchful eyes of his father. This was what was best, for his family, and himself. He knew now he had no control over his life. His life was no longer his own. It had belonged to the dark lord for 6 years.

"As you wish." Draco lowered his eyes to the parchment and picked up the quill. Over a dotted line he signed, _Draco L. Malfoy_.

"Good. The ceremony will be in two days. Spend tomorrow preparing. Your mother will be here by then."


	8. The Ceremony

_AN: So heres a new chapter. This one is a little emotional, and i just want to tell people now that NO, this is not a Blaise/Draco story. They're friends, as you learn later. for now, just hang tight and enjoy! (Pssst. Reviews help the mind grow strong!)_

Draco walked purposefully back to his tent. Once inside, he sealed it from the inside out. The others could sleep outside. He was supposed to be alone anyway. He wanted to be alone. Anger was seeping into his blood. He didn't want this. He wanted Ginny. But he had given her up. He gave her and any chance of a life with her up so that she could be happy and safe. He knew that as long as she was safe, his happiness would never matter.

He sat down on his makeshift bed and put his head in his hands. If he really wanted to, he could leave right now. Grab a horse and ride out the gates as fast as he could. But he would never make it. For the first time in 6 years, the reality of his situation struck him with full force. This was his life. He had given up a life with Ginny, as an Auror, with real friends. He had chosen this, no matter how much he blamed his father.

The tattoo burned into his arm was a symbol of everything he had given up. Now, his life was as a Death Eater, married to his only friend, Blaise Zabini. He would have to come to terms with that.

* * *

He spent the rest of that night reading the Diary over and over, until a voice he recognized only slightly called from outside the tent. He realized then that it was daylight.

"Draco! It's your mother! Let me in!" She pleaded. Draco thought about letting her in, but decided against it until later.

"I'm not ready mother. Come back later." He called. He heard nothing else from her. He spent that entire day in his tent alone, as he was sure Blaise was doing. She however was probably getting ready with her mother and young sister.

Blaise's sister was much younger than she. Carteni Zabini was only 9 years old and just maybe she would never have to join the war. If it ended soon enough, there were many who would not be put to the same fate as so many he knew.

Draco flipped to a random page of the Diary.

"_Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become. Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil." - James Allen _

_Dear Diary,_

_I had a strange dream last night. I didn't spend last night with Draco, but instead in my own dorm. It was a very white dream. Not like a racial slur kind of white, just white. There was me, and Draco, and lots of flowers. And we were just lying there, happy. But he kept kissing my stomach. I don't know why; it isn't a very pretty stomach. _

_Ginny_

"_What if nothing exists and we're all in somebody's dream? Or what's worse, what if only that fat guy in the third row exists?" - Woody Allen_

Draco often smiled when he read that entry. It would be nice to believe this was someone else's nightmare.

* * *

"You be good to her, you understand? But just like all mothers tell their son's, know when to give her the hard hand. Make sure she knows who's in charge. And if she fights back, then you've got an understanding." Narcissa Malfoy was helping Draco into his green dress robes.

She had brought a mirror with her so he could see how everything looked. He didn't like what he saw. He hadn't looked at himself in months, maybe years now. His hair was still its platinum blond, but it was shoulder length and it had been very dirty before his mother had cast a cleaning spell on him. The scar over his right eye seemed to leave a little missing from his face. There was a scar across his neck as well, and there was a split in the left side of his lower lip. He didn't notice any of these things normally. None of them bothered him.

"Oh my darling." Narcissa turned him towards her. "I realize this probably isn't the kind of wedding you want. But just think, in a few years, once the dark lord has won this war, things will be good again. We'll have Malfoy Manor all to ourselves." She seemed to stare at him wistfully for a moment before bringing a white cloth to her nose. "You look… very much like your father did, on our wedding day." She paused, and he waited patiently. "Well, you're ready. Let's go."

They headed out of the tent and up to the castle, where the private family ceremony was being held. Draco had never imagined himself being married, but if he had, he certainly wouldn't have thought the Dark Lord himself would be performing the ceremony. Apparently if something was happening in this camp, he was the one making it happen.

If was simple really. Lucius and Narcissa walked up to stand on Draco's side, and Blaise's parents Blain and Teryn along with her sister Carteni all walked up to stand on her side. Then Draco and Blaise walked up together, not touching or looking at one another.

They stood facing each other and looking downward.

Voldemort was smiling. "My faithful followers, you have come here as two separate beings, and now are being joined together by the bonds of magic and whatever god you worship…"

He continued talking, but his voice seemed to be drown out by Draco's own thoughts. He heard him ask for their hands, and Draco held out his left hand as Blaise held out her right.

He took a knife and made a small slit in both their palms.

"Now place together the bond of unity!"

For the first time, Draco and Blaise looked at one another. They locked sad gazes and slowly clasped their bleeding hands together.

"Together in life and death. Mr. and Mrs. Draco Malfoy." Voldemort turned and began to walk up the steps to the towers looking extremely pleased.

Draco let go of Blaise's hand and they turned to face their families. He shook hands with his father and Blain Zabini. His mother kissed his cheeks, and so did Teryn and Carteni. Blaise kissed each of their cheeks.

Then it was over, and they were being led to a large tent for the wedding night.

* * *

After they entered the tent it was sealed from the outside. Draco sighed and rubbed his face. Blaise took off her veil and set it down, sitting on the bed. She was starring off into space, like she always did. Draco removed his cloak and tossed it aside before sitting down next to her.

They sat that way for a long time, unspoken thoughts mending the distance between them. Confusion turned to sadness, sadness turn to regret, and regret turned to understanding. It was Draco who finally broke the silence.

"I do love you Blaise. And you will always be my friend." He said calmly, turning at last to look at her. Her face was calm, but a small smile was beginning to spread across her face.

"And you will always be mine." She answered. While it seemed that nothing had been really said, they had said everything in those simple sentences. Their friendship was changed only by a title, and they both understood that. Some things would not change.

Draco sighed and let his hand fall against the book tied to his leg. He felt in some way that he had betrayed her, even though he knew she would probably never find out.

"Do you think you'll ever see her again?" Blaise asked slowly, seeming to know what was on his mind.

Draco, amused, shook his head. "No. But my heart belongs to her all the same." He gave her a meaningful look. Blaise nodded with the tinge of her lips turned upward.

"I hope you find her." Without another word Blaise stood from the bed and changed from her ceremonial robes back into the regular robes she normally wore. She sat down on the floor and pulled her legs up to her chest and began to meditate.

Draco sighed once more before changing out of his robes and into his regular clothes. He lay down on the bed and blew out the light in the tent and closed his eyes for sleep.


	9. Reunion

"_Don't be silly! It's only a little water!" She coaxed, her hair slicked to her head and face and her white t-shirt and jeans soaked through so that he could see the pink bra beneath. _

"_Yes, but its wet!" He argued back, standing underneath the porch-like overhanging. She was standing in the pouring rain, soaked to the bone, trying to convince him that it was fun. Fun to look at? Yes. _

"_Draco, what are you so afraid of? Washing the gel out of your hair?" She teased, taking a step closer. He rolled his eyes, but took a step back. _

"_I don't wear gel anymore, but even if I did that wouldn't be the reason. It's just… silly!" He insisted, unsure why he was still arguing with her. She was going to win. He knew that, and so did she. _

"_That's the point! Come on Draco. Come out now, or you're going to be grounded." She warned. Draco thought for a moment, staring at her serious face. Could she really do that? _

_**Yes**, he decided. Yes she could. _

"_Oh fine." He took off his outer robe as to have something to wrap around Ginny when she began complaining of the cold. Then he took a cautious step out from under the overhang only to have her grab his hand and pulled him out several feet. _

_She giggled happily and jumped on him. Sure, it only succeeded in getting him wetter, but her closeness balanced out the negatives. _

_She pulled away and went in to kiss him. He let her for a moment before pulling away and looking around worriedly. _

"_Ginny, are you crazy? Someone could see!" He warned, though it probably would have been more convincing if he could wipe the grin off his face. _

"_So what! I don't care anymore! I want the world to know-" she held her arms out and started shouting "- that I love Draco Malfoy!" She spun around in giggles, but he grabbed her and ran them over to the side of the castle. _

"_Yes, and I love you too. What's gotten into you today?" He asked, making sure they were hidden from view. _

"_More like what got into me yesterday!" She teased, and he smacked her on the arm. "Ow!" _

"_Behave yourself!" He commanded, smiling all the same. He couldn't help it; she was adorable, and he knew he couldn't control her anymore than he could control his face. _

_She reached up to kiss him again, and this time he let her. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and pushed herself against him. It was only then that he remembered they were soaking wet with the rain still coming down around them. _

_He gently pulled away. "Let's go inside, hmm? Get some hot chocolate?" He asked. _

_She smiled. "Okay." She quickly kissed him again, and then they began heading back to the overhang. _

_He drapped his cloak around her like he had planned and she took it without protest. _

"_You want to go first or should I?" She asked, motioning to the door. _

"_You go ahead. I'll be up in a minute with the hot chocolates." He pushed her towards the door. She waved and went inside to go up to his head boy quarters. _

_He stood outside for a few more minutes, watching the rain…_

A crash of thunder woke him up. He started, and only then did he realize that he was alone. He quickly put on his outer robes and went outside.

It was pouring rain.

* * *

Draco soon realized that married life, for now, was going to work to his advantage. He and Blaise got to share a tent, so at night, he could go to sleep while she meditated, and when she was done she would get up and write. Neither of them bothered the other, and they didn't get any unwanted interaction this way, either. It's wasn't paradise, but it was a gentle reprieve from the harshness around them.

Draco's mother and Blaise's family had left the day after the ceremony. Draco had only learned a bit more about Zeels in the time he'd seen them, but he'd learned they all had colors given to them at birth.

Blaise's color was purple, just like her father. But her mother's was red, and her younger sister blue. While they all had purple eyes, their colors designated their way of study, and helped determine their protective animal. Draco made a note to have Blaise fill him in on her religion some day.

After that, things were almost normal, despite the comments and innuendoes he would receive from others he worked with. Days passed quickly in this new routine, and it was easy just to blend with the flow.

It would be winter soon, and the days were growing shorter. The weight tied to his arm was growing heavier.

* * *

"And would you believe, little whelp tried to talk to me too! Started begging about his family." Flint tore into a piece of meat like an animal. Before chewing, "I said to him, you should have thought of them before, shouldn't you?" There was a chorus of applause from around the small fire.

Draco picked apart the roasted meat carefully and with severe concentration, as much as to delay eating it as to ignore the conversation.

"Bunch of slim anyways, the lot of them." Petri Gray piped up from across the fire. "Always gripin' and complainin' about a better world! What's any better about their world than ours, aye?" He asked, standing. A few cheers and muffled laughs echoed around. "This is our world too, ain't it? Why's we got to share it? It ain't our fault if a few of their do-gooders were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They think they're so high and mighty, sitting there in their pretty towns. But we'll show them! Each and every one of them! We'll kill 'em all, and then we'll bath our clothes in their blood and hang their heads-" He grabbed the person next to him by the hair "- on our doors!"

A round of drunken cheers echoes around. Petri Gray was an older man, probably in his late 50's. He had been a Death Eater since he was 18, but he'd never moved up in ranks. Some believed it was the fact that his spells always seemed to go awry, usually missing anyways because of his blind left eye. Others believed it was due to the long term stay at St Mungo's from the prolonged sufferance under the Crutiatus curse and the Imperius curses from the Dark Lord himself. Honestly, the only reasons the Dark Lord had allowed him to join again was because he was still living after that kind of sufferance.

Draco pushed some of the over dry meat into his mouth and chewed, smirking at the current conversation but not participating.

"Pipe down Gray!" Nott said from beside him. "What do you know about any of that anyways? When we do win this war, most of us will be _dead_ and the few that are left can enjoy the spoils. Until the Dark Lord kills each and every one of us off, so that he can rule eternally, by himself, sitting of his great fat hinny!" Several people laughed, but Flint grabbed Nott's arm and pulled him close, hushing everyone in the process.

"Are you crazy? Get down." He forced him into a crouch. "He's up there you know, watchin'." He nodded to the high tower. "He doesn't take kindly to treasoner's. You know what happens. You best watch your mouth running off Nott, or you'll be next." He let go of Nott's arm and went back to his roasted meat. Nott glanced uneasily up at the high tower, as did many others. Draco glanced out of amusement, but was surprised to see an eerie fire light up in the tower for the first time in months. If you looked closely enough, you could see the shadow of a slim figure just to the side of the window, though Draco doubted it was really the dark lord. It had a woman's grace to it, and Draco had a feeling that the one doing the watching was his aunt, and not his soon-to-be uncle.

A hand on his arm startled him, and he turned to see Blaise next to him.

"Excuse me gentlemen, but you won't mind if I borrow my husband?" She said politely, with a hint of threat under her breath. Several sniggers and arm jabs chorused, but Draco paid little attention. This was the first time Blaise had really had something to tell him in a while and he could only wonder what it was.

She pulled him away into the shadows of their tent and drew him close.

"Draco, it's Ginny." Out of all the things he had expected to come out of her mouth, that had been the last.

"What!"

"She's in the dungeons. The new prisoners we got in today, she was with them." Blaise spoke hurriedly, in hushed tones. Draco could feel his mind begin to fog with emotion and his heart began to beat rapidly.

"Where is she?" He asked quickly.

"In one of the highest floors. The Dark Lord remembers her and he wants her tortured for fun after they get some information from her, on public display." Blaise warned, taking a step back in fear of his rage.

"No! I won't let him!" He shouted. Blaise pressed a finger to his lips.

"I know. And that's why I'm going to help you. I can take you to see her now, but you have to stay _calm_." She warned, handing him his mask. Draco nodded and began to follow her to the castle dungeons. "Follow my lead." She whispered as they approached the gate.

"We need another for night duty." She told the guard, who tonight was one of the initiates from the ceremony they had witnessed. The chubby boy nodded and let them in.

Once passed the gates, they walked towards the stairs and took them two at a time. Blaise signaled him to wait in a corner. He watched as she backtracked her steps and opened a cell door. There were guards farther down the corridors, patrolling, and one just ahead.

Blaise flicked her wand from inside her robes and the prisoner (who had at the last moment been completely calm and stone faced) started flailing about and screaming. Blaise looked at him and he understood. Distraction.

Several of the guards ahead were coming down the corridor now, and Blaise made no effort to spare the prisoners pain. They kicked and tried to subdue him, but to no avail. Draco made sure no one was looking and turned the corner.

He raced down the corridors, glancing in every cell. He was close to the end of the hallway when he glanced in a cell that appeared to be empty. But it wasn't. Draco skidded to a stop and peered in the corner of the cell where her bright red hair gave her away. Except for that, she was hidden in shadow. She glanced up at him fiercely and defiantly, just like she always had. She was pale and thin, and her red hair which had at one time been long and luxurious was now shortened to her ears in a sort of boy cut. But she was still beautiful.

"What do you want, Death Eater?" She spat the words, beginning to draw herself up and he remembered that she could not see him. He knew he needed to say something, but no words would come to his lips. Finally, the only thing he could think to say was a well memorized quote.

"For the memory of love… is sweet… though the love itself were in vain… And what I have lost of pleasure… assuage what I find of pain." He practically whispered the words but he knew she heard them. Her expression turned from stone cold to shocked and scared.

"Draco?" She breathed, coming closer to the bars of the cell which Draco was now pressed against. He brought his hand up and lifted his mask so that she could see his face. Before either could say a word she was crying and she lunged herself at the bars.

His lips met hers in a hungry, dream like kiss. It was through the bars of the cage, and thus hard to hold each other, but Ginny clutched and the front of his robes and he took her hands in his.

"Oh, you're alive!" She whispered happily. She reached out and pressed her hands to his face. He wasn't used to the touch of flesh anymore, and her warm hands brushing back and forth across his cold face made him shiver involuntarily.

"What are you doing here?" He whispered harshly, reaching up and grabbing her hands.

"We were out collecting our dead from a battle and we were ambushed. We thought it was over, but then they brought us here." Ginny explained in a rushed whisper. Other prisoners were beginning to stand and listen now, and Draco knew he had to hurry.

"Listen, I'll come back for you tonight, after the guard has decreased. Stay where you were until then. The less attention you draw to yourself, the better." He kissed her hands. They could hear footsteps by now from down the corridor, and Draco realized Blaise's distraction could only last so long. "I will come back." He promised. He stepped away and put on his mask and began to turn away.

"Draco!" She stopped him. "I love you."

He didn't answer and didn't look back. He just kept walking.


	10. Choices

_AN: Boy these hit counters are nice. if it wasnt for the 807 hits i have, i would not be so motivatedto update! As for those of you who arent leaving reviews/ that hurts. But read the story anyways._

Draco paced back and forth nervously in his tent. It had been nearly an hour since he had returned from the prisons, and the guard should be decreasing by now. The door to the tent swished open and Draco turned on his heal. Blaise came in, removing her mask from her face worriedly.

"What will you do?" She asked cautiously.

"I'm going to need your help." He came and stood next to her and she nodded. "I need your robes and your mask. And then I want you to meditate." Blaise was in the process of taking off her outer robe when she looked up at him curiously.

"Meditate? Why?" She took off the robe and handed it to him, and he put it on over his own.

"Because I want you to be able to honestly say that you didn't know what I was doing. You're my only friend Blaise. I won't let you suffer for being my wife as well." He held out his hand for the mask and she put it in his hand.

He was about to turn and leave when her hand stopped him. She pulled him into a gentle hug. "Good luck."

She pulled away, and he found himself at a loss for words. He'd never been good at goodbyes.

"Blaise… thank you, for everything. If I don't see you again-" She cut him off.

"You will." She seemed to stare off into the distance, as if reading something written far away. "Our work here together is not quite finished yet. Be happy Draco." She smiled gently at him locking her eyes with his own. Her loyalty to him would take a long time to understand, but he would never forget it.

He nodded, put on his mask and left the tent. He began walking to the dungeons quickly, but stopped outside Flint's darkened tent when he saw Flint's prized black stallion kicking at his chains. The horse stopped at his approach and pretended to be asleep. Suddenly, Draco had an idea.

* * *

"A summons from my father, to his room in the towers." Draco held up a note with a green Malfoy emblem on it, hoping the guard didn't see it closely. The guard was tired and let him pass without question. Once inside, Draco discarded the letter and headed for Ginny's cell. It wasn't as far as he remembered, and he soon found himself turning down the familiar passageway to her cell. Only one problem; the guard at the end of the tunnel. Draco walked calmly up to him, recognizing the dented mask as Petri Gray. Easy enough to confuse. 

"Hey!" Draco shouted. "What're you doing here?"

Petri tilted his head to the side. "I'm on guard duty." He answered, pulling his wand. Draco pulled his own.

"No your not! I'm on guard duty!" He pointed to himself in a large gesture.

"Why, no you aints! I was assigned to it tonight!" His voice was puzzled and worried.

"Look, what's that!" Draco pointed over Grays shoulder and Gray turned, dumbfounded.

"Where?" Draco hit him hard over the head with his fist and Gray collapsed before him.

"Idiot." Draco mumbled, continuing on to Ginny's cell. He was close now and he began to sprint.

Finally, he reached her cell. She was curled in her corner like before, but she stood at his arrival.

"Draco!" She ran to the bars. Draco took off Blaise's outer robe that he had been wearing over his own and passed it to her.

"Put this on. I'm going to get you out of here." He pulled the mask from inside his own robes and handed her that too. Ginny obliged, though disgusted, and Draco moved to the lock.

He held up his tattoo to the look and it seared itself onto it, opening the cell. Ginny stepped out and hugged Draco tightly. As much as he liked it, he had to push her away.

"Not now." He warned. "Follow me." He began to lead her through the winding corridors of the dungeon and out to the prison gate. "Follow my lead in 10 minutes time." He instructed, before turning out of the shadows.

He walked up to the gate and waved at the guard. "My guard shifts over." He said in a husky voice. The guard, portly and sweating, nodded shortly and closed his eyes for a moment. It was long enough for Draco to slip into shadow and wait for Ginny.

So he waited.

When she finally came from the shadows he held his breath. She walked up to the guard, waved him off and walked right past him. Draco exhaled and grabbed Ginny's arm when she came close, pulling her into the shadows with him. They glided through the camp back to his side, where they stopped outside Flint's tent with the horse pretending to be sleeping.

Ginny latched herself onto him, and he held her close for a moment, knowing they might not have much time.

"We can take this horse-" He began, but she interrupted him, clenching his robes in her fists.

"You're coming with me, aren't you? Because I won't let you stay, I won't!" She ordered. She reached up and pressed her lips to his again. He nodded as she pulled away.

He pulled away from her and unchained the horse, helping her onto him. She held out her hand and he pulled himself up behind her, pressing them close together. He hadn't been this close to anyone since he last held her, such a long time ago. They breathed together for a moment, and then Draco encircled an arm around her waist and the other held the reins.

Ginny kicked the horse hard and he started, making far too much noise. He began to gallop, which was a good thing. Several people woke up from the noise, but they were past them before they opened their eyes.

There were several guards at the closed forest road gate, but Draco only picked up speed.

"Get down!" He told Ginny. Ignoring him, Ginny reached inside his robes and felt around for his wand before he could stop her.

"Reducto!" She shouted, and much to Draco's surprise the gate shattered. She got low to the horse and he followed her, taking his wand back to attack the attacking Death Eaters.

Several of the guards tried to halt them as they flew by, but they trampled one of them and the others got out of the way. Others were casting spells. They narrowly dodged most of them, but a slashing spell hit Draco in the back and he lost his balance. Ginny sat up and caught him, wrapping his arms around her. She headed straight for the forest. They broke through the trees and the yells of alert rang out behind them.

But they were already clear. The horse was charging, happy to be free. It was only minutes before they were coming out the other side of the thick forest into the black night. Ginny ripped off her mask and let it fly. Draco raised an arm to his mask and lifted it off his face.

"We did it! I can't believe it! We escaped! Draco-" She turned her head slightly to look at him, but her expression quickly turned from happiness to worry as she saw the blood running down his hand. "Draco! You're hurt!


	11. Choices 2

Ginny began to slow the horse, but Draco stopped her.

"I'm fine. We have to keep riding, at least until we reach another forest. They won't just let us get away. They'll come searching for us. We have to keep riding." He told her, glancing behind them unsurely.

"I won't let you die from blood loss, I just got you back!" She shouted back at him, and he smirked.

"Who said I was your property?" He teased.

"I did!" She replied rambunctiously, but she kept riding.

It was another 45 minutes at full speed before Ginny insisted they had to stop. They trotted into a nearby forest a little way and when they stopped Draco attempted to get off the horse, only to fall on his face.

"Draco! Are you okay!" Ginny was off in an instant, helping him up.

"Not one of my more graceful moments, but I'm fine." He said, the wound on his back beginning to prickle painfully.

"No your not. Now sit." She commanded in a tone that left no room for argument. He decided to try anyway.

"It's really not that bad-" before he could finish his sentence, both her hands were on his shoulder and he was pushed to the ground. She sat behind him, pealing back the blood-soaked robes.

"This is nothing? What dimension are you living in?" She asked sarcastically, touching the outer edged of the wound. Draco bit his lip as not to squeal.

"Do you have to-" his voice came out higher than he had wanted and he cleared his throat. "Do you have to touch it? It's bad enough already."

"Take off your shirt," she demanded, standing in front of him. "Right now, or I'm going to do it for you." He hadn't heard her use that tone in a very long time, and its reaction in him was not what he was hoping for at the moment.

He took off the outer robe to reveal his shirtless form, with a pair of black slacks underneath. Ginny noticed the weapons strapped to his legs, but she also saw the Diary.

She reached out to touch it shyly. "You… you still have this?" She asked, kneeling back down.

He reached down and un-strapped it from his leg, handing it to her. "I have it memorized, so you can have it back, if you want." He mumbled, watching her flip open the book. A tear slid down her cheek and she closed it abruptly, setting it down beside him and picking up the torn robe.

"I'm just going to go uh, wet this down." She stood, and Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Wet it down?" He asked, looking around for water.

"I heard water, probably a stream, just down there. I'll be right back." She promised turning. Draco scrambled to stand.

"You're not going alone." He warned.

"Sit!" She commanded. "I'll be right back. Stay put." She scrambled out of his sight and he sat there uneasy in the silence.

The horse was grazing happily at the vegetation around, but he stopped when Draco looked at him and stared back.

"What're you looking at?" Draco asked. The horse neighed in response and went back to his grass.

Ginny returned a moment later. She sat down behind him again with the wet cloth.

"This may sting." She warned. Draco nodded as she pressed the cold cloth to his back, but he couldn't help his sharp intake of breath. She pressed her left hand to his shoulder soothingly and the touch made him tingle. He tried to focus on her delicate hand instead of the cold cloth on his back, but it was difficult.

They didn't say anything as she worked, and Draco began to feel the silence tensing. There were so many unsaid things…

Ginny cast a healing spell on his back once it was clean of all the blood and the pain decreased considerably. She took off the outer coat of Blaise's that she had been wearing and draped it over his shoulders, a motion very reminiscent of their youth. She was about to pull away but Draco's reflexes made him reach up and grab her arm.

"Ginny…" He started, unsure of what to say.

"I know." She answered calmly, sitting back down closer to him. "I've missed you too, Draco."

Draco sighed, pulling her close to him. "This doesn't feel real. I'm afraid I'm going to wake up back at camp and none of this will have happened." He admitted, unsure what had provoked the words. Ginny nuzzled her head into his shoulder.

"I know. But it is real. We're together again, just like we'd hoped." She squeezed him, and his arms tightened around her. She was still sending that tingly feeling everywhere she touched or even looked at him. He hadn't felt it in a long time.

"You hoped to get trapped in a Death Eater camp so we could almost get killed escaping?" He sarcastically asked, smiling for the first time in a long time when she smacked his shoulder.

It felt so much like when they were young, and it was easy to fall right back into a routine and pick up where they had left off. Draco found himself joking and smiling, things he hadn't done in 6, almost 7, years. He rested his face in the crook of her neck and breathed her in. She even smelled like he remembered. Surly this could not be a dream.

"You know," he said after a moment. "No one has ever escaped from NightNim before. They must be furious."

"We have to get back to London." Ginny said abruptly, standing and offering him a hand.

"Why?" He asked, taking the hand she offered and surprised to feel no pain when he stood.

"I have to tell the others about that place. Maybe if we hurry we can get back there before they move and attack it. Maybe we can save some of those poor prisoners." Ginny grimaced, going to the horse.

"Hold on a minute." Draco said, following her. "You can't just… well I mean, you can… but… they'll have left my morning anyway. Besides, there are thousands of them." Draco protested, unsure why he felt so divided.

"And there are thousands of us. We have to try!" She insisted, attempting to get on the horse. Draco grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"No!" He said. He wasn't sure what was making him act this way. He hated that camp just like any other person, but at the same time… "They… I mean… I don't know." Bemused, he dropped down to the ground and sat there. Ginny kneeled down before him.

"Draco… what's wrong?" She asked, clearly confused. Draco looked up at her for a moment and realized she was still just as innocent as the day he left her. He scowled, holding his arm protectively.

"You wouldn't understand." He stood and began pacing. Ginny watched him, her features becoming angry.

"Try me." She ordered, crossing her arms over her chest.

Draco paced, thinking. His loyalties, as he had always told himself, were to Ginny. But after 6, almost 7, years as a Death Eater, he found changing sides to be harder than he had planned. Those people back in the camp weren't mindless. Many of them didn't know any better. Some on the other hand were just stupid. He didn't care about his father, or the Dark Lord and his aunt for that matter. But it was Blaise and the chubby initiate that made him hesitate. The blond girl with the scared eyes. For many people, it was a way of life because they had no other option, and now that Draco had another option, he found it wasn't as easy a choice as before. Why should he be the only one given a choice? It didn't seem fair. And yet…

Draco scowled, unsure why this was such a difficult decision. He loved Ginny, didn't he? Yes, he did. But he did not love her side any more than he loved his own.

"Those people… they… I'm one of them too, you know." He didn't look up as he spoke.

"No. You're different." She insisted, taking a step towards him. Draco couldn't explain the anger that those words made him feel. He could only obey it.

"Does this look different to you?" He held up his burning, painful tattoo. It took up most of his arm in delicate swirls and spirals; a web of twisted lies. "The only thing that makes me different is you! I'm just the same as the rest of them. Don't fool yourself into thinking I haven't killed people, because I have. Don't think I didn't participate in all the torture going on around me. Don't believe I was ever loyal to anyone but you. Not your side, _you_. But that didn't stop me." He breathed out harshly.

Ginny's eyes were locked on the tattoo. She looked scared as her eyes began to water, and she closed them in an effort to blink back unbidden tears.

"But your still _you_. You said yourself, you were loyal to me. You loved _me_. That makes you different." She took a hesitant step forward. When he didn't move she took another. And another. And another until she was right next to him. She reached a hand up and grabbed his wrist, pulling it down to her level. She ran a hand over the tattoo before gently kissing it.

Draco, stunned, didn't know what to do. He sighed, dropping his arm. He looked up at Ginny again, knowing what she said was true. He had loved her. He did love her.

Then why was it so hard to leave all this behind and go with her? Why was doing what he had only dreamed so difficult? He knew that if he took one more step he would be starting all over again in a brand new world. Maybe that was what scared him.

"Come with me. We've got so much to say and do. I have so much to tell you." She pleaded, grabbing his hand.

Wordlessly, Draco pulled her into a kiss. He let his tongue caress hers for a few moments before pulling away.

"I do love you, you know. I always have." He whispered. She smiled at him and led him over to the horse.

He helped her up, and together they started riding back towards the past, and London.


	12. About Time

_AN: Sigh. I tried really hard ot finish this story before HBP came out. But, as you can see, that didnt happen. I've still got this story in my head though, and i have every intention of finishing it, even if there are only 3 or 4 chapters left. However i am sad to report that this story is now officially AU after 5th year._

It was morning by the time they reached a town. Draco wasn't sure what it was, but it was awfully small. Ginny led him into the town, but he soon realized she knew exactly where she was going. She led him into an abandoned building before he began to question her.

"Ginny?" He asked, squinting to see her in the darkness. "Where are we?"

"This is a passageway to the underground tunnel system. You'll see." She explained, climbing down a ladder into the darkness. Reluctantly, he followed.

"I can't see where I'm going." He complained down to her. He could almost feel her roll her eyes.

"You're the one with the wand, genius!" She shouted back. Her voice sounded farther away than he wanted. He pulled out his wand.

"Lumos!" He shouted and the tunnel brightened. He followed her down as best he could until they reached the end of the ladder. It seemed as though they had reached a dead end. "Now what?" He questioned, holding his wand up high.

Ginny grabbed his arm and took his wand out of his hand. "Draco, you've been gone from the wizarding world too long. Don't you remember platform 9&¾?"

Draco scowled. "Go on then." He poked her in her mid-back. She smirked at him before turning back to the wall.

"There we go." She handed him back his wand, apparently finding the right spot of the wall. She jogged right through it. Draco hesitated. Where was she taking him?

Sighing, he jogged through the wall behind her and bumped into her on the other side. Ginny pointed to his still lit wand.

"Nox." He mumbled and the wand put itself out. He looked around and was thoroughly surprised.

This place did indeed remind him of platform 9&¾, but it was much larger and underground. There were lots of people milling about their business, some carrying luggage, others fussing with their children, and some reading magazines while waiting for their… train? Those didn't look like trains at all.

"Where are we again?" He asked, bemused. Ginny began walking through the crowd and he followed closely.

"This is the wizarding subway. After everyone figured out how to track apparition, it was hard to find a safe way to travel for wizards who weren't aurors other than portkeys. This is an underground subway system that runs all through Europe, the same way the Hogwarts train used to. Harry came up with the idea, but Hermione designed it and made it work."

Ginny continued to lead him through the crowd until they reached what appeared to be a ticketing station. The witch inside was old with large glasses. She was chewing gum and reading a coffee stained edition of Witch Weekly. Ginny tapped her fingers on the desk impatiently.

"May I help you?" The woman finally looked up.

"I need two tickets to London on an express. It's urgent." Ginny said into the mouth piece of the glass.

"Right. The next train leaves in 10 minutes, is that alright?" She asked, looking in a book that was constantly changing and re-writing itself.

"That's fine." Ginny answered impatiently. It had been a long time since Draco had seen her act this way either. He suspected getting used to her moods again would be an interesting ordeal in itself.

"That'll be 6 galleons, 13 sickles and 17 knuts." The witch replied, waiting expectantly. Ginny reached down her shirt for something but apparently couldn't find it when she started cursing.

"Those bloody bastards! They took my auror badge!" Ginny told him, very upset. She let out a frustrated squeal before turning back to the toll-booth woman. "Listen, my name is Ginny Weasley. If you could just look me up you'll see I'm an auror and I still have an emergency pass-" Ginny was telling the witch, but 'Simone' as her nametag read, didn't look interested.

"No money, no badge, no tickets. That's the way it works honey." Simone tried to close the window but Ginny grabbed Draco's wand and shoved it in her way.

"Call the ministry! Call anyone! Look it up in your big dusty book over there! This is an emergency, don't you understand!" Ginny pounded her fist on the counter, but that did little to impress Simone.

The older woman sighed and reopened the window. She went to the back of her teller booth and opened up a large book. She began flipping through it page by page, licking her fingertips after each page.

"Weasley! It's Weasley! That means it'll be in the back!" She shouted at the woman through the glass, her ears turning red. Ginny turned away from the desk and crossed her arms over her chest, leaning against the counter.

"What!" She glared over Draco's shoulder at someone behind them. Draco didn't have to look to know they were now alone in line.

They waited for several minutes, Ginny growing more frustrated every second. Draco wanted to do something to comfort her but it had been so long that he had no idea what.

"There she is, Ginny Weasley." Simone came back to the window with the book to show Ginny. "It says she went missing in action just this week. If you don't have proof of identification I'm afraid I can't let you use this emergency pass."

"Yes, I went missing in action because I was captured, but I escaped! That's what those emergency passes are for!" Ginny shouted, dropping her head into her hands.

"Ginny?" A voice from behind them sounded. Ginny turned abruptly. Her face brightened into a huge smile.

"Neville!" She shouted, jumping on him. Neville Longbottom stumbled backwards at the greeting but hugged her back close.

Neville looked thinner than Draco remembered, but his dark brown hair was still trimmed well and his face looked just the same. He was wearing bright blue robes and carrying a large suitcase.

"Ginny! What are you doing here! We, well we thought you were dead!" Neville had her by the arms and was looking at her in shock. Ginny giggled.

"Rumors of my demise were greatly exaggerated." She mused, glancing at Draco. Draco stayed where he was, unmoving. "Neville, I have to get back to London, and I don't have my badge or any money." She explained.

"Well of course-" Neville looked up for the first time and caught sight of Draco. He seemed to take a step back as though expecting a hex to come from Draco's smirk. "You… well I mean, uh… your… what…. What're _you_ doing here!" Neville said, his voice quivering. It was good to know some things had not changed.

"Relax Neville, I'll explain later. He's with us." She said shortly. Neville glanced between her and Draco several times before nodding.

"Excuse me," Simone said through the teller window. "Are you going to buy tickets or not, because your holding up the line."

Ginny, Neville and Draco all glanced behind them to see there was still no line before turning back to Simone.

"Look you old bag," Ginny began. "I need two tickets on that express train, NOW!" Ginny shouted.

Neville slid his Auror card under the glass. "Make that three." He added quietly. The woman passed the tickets and Neville's badge back to them.

"Thank you and have a pleasant day on the Underground Wizard Express." She closed the teller window.

"First thing I do when I get back is change that emergency pass law. The second thing is have her fired." Ginny huffed. She began to lead the way to the express platform.

The sub-train was about to leave, and Ginny, Draco and Neville all had their tickets stamped and climbed in. The train was rather luxurious inside, and it did indeed remind Draco of the Hogwarts express. They found a compartment and got in.

"So tell me what happened." Neville insisted, sitting opposite Ginny and Draco.

"It's a long story. The gist is that I got captured, taken to a prison camp, and Draco rescued me. I'm sure the whole exaggerated story will be in every tabloid by the end of the week, so you can read it there. I'm sorry I'm so grumpy Neville but I'm terribly low on sleep. Do you mind?" Ginny asked, pouting and slumping down in her seat.

"Not at all. Get some rest; we can talk about it all when we get back to the ministry." Neville assured her. Ginny nodded and sighed, pulling a pillow down from the wracks above them. She put the pillow on Draco's lap and collapsed on it.

Neville's eyes widened slightly before he looked away, and Draco rearranged to make her comfortable. They sat in silence until Ginny's breathing evened out and she was fast asleep.

"When did you come back into the picture?" Neville asked quietly, suspiciously. Draco raised an eyebrow.

"What would you know about it?" He sneered. He didn't feel like arguing right now. He felt like leaning his head against the cold wall of the compartment and going to sleep as well, but as long as Neville was here he knew that wouldn't happen.

"Enough." Neville spat back. They glared at each other for another moment before Draco sighed and averted his eyes.

"This is stupid." He stated. "Ginny was captured by Death Eaters and brought to my camp. Yes, I'm a Death Eater. I don't deny it. But I saved her. End of story. No underlying intentions, I'm not a bloody spy. I love her. Now drop it." He said quietly, glancing at Ginny's sleeping form.

Neville stared at him for a moment before dropping the hard stare to a concerned one. "Then why did you leave her before?" He asked, staring at Ginny now.

"She… told you about that?" Draco questioned slowly, not understanding.

"Everyone knows about that now." Neville said casually, but Draco's eyes snapped up. Why did everyone know? What did everyone know that he didn't? "If what you say is true, you'd better get some rest. You've got a long day ahead of you." Neville leaned back and closed his own eyes.

Draco stared at him for another moment, deciding sleeping would _not_ be the best idea. But leaning his head against the wall to take the strain on his neck off couldn't hurt…

* * *

"Draco?" The voice in his ear was soft and warm. The hot breath on his skin wasn't bad either. "Draco, wake up. We're in London." He felt her lips brush against his ear gently before he opened his eyes to the redhead. 

Draco glanced around the compartment, blinking to clear his vision. So it hadn't been a dream, after all.

"Sorry." He mumbled, standing. Neville was outside the compartment waiting. Draco tiredly followed them out of the train. How long had he been asleep? Not long enough, obviously.

This station was very much like the one they had just left, and Draco wondered if the passageway out was the same. But it wasn't. Ginny and Neville led him through a door in the front and they came out into a similar place with a lot of stairs.

"We have to get to the ministry quickly. We don't have much time left." Ginny was telling Neville.

"Time for what?" He asked, lugging his case up the stairs. Draco realized belatedly that this was a muggle subway, much like the Wizarding one. They hurried up the stairs into daylight.

Draco looked around, stunned. It had been a long time since he'd been to London. At least 3 years ago, before he had been a registered Death Eater. Ginny and Neville seemed to be ignoring him completely.

"Well I know that," Ginny was saying. "But the point is that's where it was, and maybe if we can get a scout out we can catch them moving." She told him, waving her hand in frustration. "I'll, oh I don't know, I'll figure it out when we get there." She told him. Neville glanced back at Draco for the first time.

"They aren't going to let him in, you know." Ginny glanced behind her at Draco. She reached back and grabbed his hand, pulling him along side her like a small child.

"Yes they will." She assured him.

"It's not like they can just put down the wards for him. He won't be aloud in the ministry as long as he has… the dark mark. He'll have to go through the prisons." Neville told them.

"Not if I can add his name to the ward. Then it'll let him in." Ginny acted as if that was obvious, but Neville looked scandalized.

"You can't do that. They won't authorize it until he's been qualified with a Veritaserum test, probably by an auror who hates him, like one of your brothers." Neville stopped just outside an abandoned door. "Or worse, by your father."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Ginny said, going down an alleyway.

She led them to a dumpster in the alleyway, and Ginny pushed a button on the side of it. A little yellow slip of paper flew out of the dumpster. Ginny picked it up, and as she was standing the dumpster spat out a pen as well, and it hit her square on the head.

"Nice shot." Neville commented dryly, and Ginny glared at him. She scribbled something on the paper and tossed it back into the dumpster, tossing the pen in a second later, perhaps in the thought of hitting whoever reached for the paper.

They waited patiently for several minutes, Ginny tapping her foot and Neville growing nervous.

"This is bad Ginny. Any moment now they're going to-" no sooner had Neville began speaking that had a dozen or more aurors appeared from different places around them, all with their wands out.

"Oh here we go." Ginny complained, holding her hands up. Draco didn't move as they came in close and began walking them around the building again. They went to a red dumpster on the other side.

"Nothing funny." One of them commanded. Ginny stopped where she was and put her hands on her hips.

"George? George is that you?" She asked, stepping towards her would-be brother.

"Uh… no. I'm not authorized to uh… Oh get in the dumpster, Ginny." He ordered. Ginny did as she was told, complaining under her breath. Neville followed her and several of the aurors followed them. Draco was next.

He jumped in expecting to feel solid ground several feet below him, but instead he went speeding down a tube into pitch blackness. He landed on his butt after several antagonizing moments of this only to have a wand shoved in his face.

Draco looked around. It was suddenly bright where they were. All around him were what appeared to be plastic boxes with people inside. This must be that they referred to as a prison. Draco thought it looked more like an insane asylum. Each of the prisoners was bound by glowing blue ribbons.

Draco recognized only a few of them, smirking at the outraged looks on their faces. George had removed the concealment charm from himself and was hugging Ginny tightly while glaring at Draco over her shoulder. Neville was being helped to his feet, but when Draco tried to stand, several wands were shoved in his face along with an order of "Don't move, Malfoy!"

Draco sighed heavily, looking imploringly at Ginny. She turned to walk towards them, shoving their hands away.

"Put it away." She told them, reaching down the help him up. "He's a friend." She pulled him to his feat, wiping the dust off his cloak.

George crossed his arms. "You." He shook his head ruefully. "It's about time you showed up." He gave him a meaningful look that Draco didn't quite understand or perhaps didn't interpret right, but before he could say anything back there was a shout from behind them.

"Ginny!" Granger yelled, rushing in with Ron and Harry behind her. Ginny hugged her tightly before moving onto her brother, who looked like he would pass out at any moment.

"Ginny, I thought we'd lost you!" He exclaimed, squeezing her tightly. Ginny giggled, squeezing him back.

"Glad to hear you have so much faith in me, you Prat." She told him affectionately. Ron smiled and squeezed her tighter.

"I had faith." Harry chimed in, hugging her next. Ginny swatted him affectionately on the arm.

Ron caught sight of Draco and stepped forward, crossing his arms with a smirk on his face.

"Well, I guess I owe you again, hmm? First me, and now Ginny." Ron smiled fully at him, holding out his hand. Draco was struck with a sudden sense of Deja-Vu, but he shook his hand anyway. "By the way," Ron said, turning to George. "Something for you, from the minister."

Ron passed him a little piece of paper. George unfolded it and read it over, nodding his head every few minutes.

"Just as I thought." George said, glancing up at Draco. "In light of the recent information of Mr. Malfoys involvement in Miss Weasley's capture and rescue it is requested that he take a Veritaserum test to assure of his trustworthiness and intentions so that he can resume his useful place among the wizarding community." George folded up the paper and stuck it in his pocket. "Do you consent?"

Draco looked around him for a moment, realizing that there was no turning back. Ginny was starring back at him nervously, her eyes showing her hopefulness. Draco knew that there was no denying her what she had gotten her heart set upon.

"Yes, I consent."


	13. Dinner and Good Conversation

_AN: We're getting so close to the end! Keep reviewing guys! I hope this chapter shocks a little bit, but i also hope some of you figured it out. I love this story, and while this may not be the end yet... we have yet to see... it's up to the readers..._

The feel of warm water running over his skin was welcomed, but foreign. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a proper shower, and not just a simple scourgify. He smirked in amusement as the water coming off of him was almost black.

He leaned his head against the side of the shower and let the water comfort him, soak him until his fingers pruned. It had been a long time since he'd had that luxury.

The effects of the Veritaserum were still wearing off, though they hadn't given him very much. But then, they hadn't held him very long either. Harry, who it turned out had been questioning him, had only had to ask the most basic of questions, but Draco had felt several times that there was something more he wanted to ask, but was holding back. Luckily, Draco had passed the test easily, his allegiance to Ginny taken as an allegiance to the ministry.

"_Why did you choose to leave the camp of people known as Death Eaters?" Harry had asked calmly. _

"_To save Ginny." Draco had stared at the ground throughout his entire interrogation, knowing he could not lie. _

"_Are you now or do you plan to contact the dark lord again?" _

"_No."_

"_So you left for Ginny, no one else?" He had asked, setting down the required questions. _

"_No one else." Draco repeated. _

"_What exactly are your intentions with her?" Harry asked, kneeling down to look at Draco's eyes. _

_Draco tried to bite back his sappy response, but could not. "To love her." _

Harry had let him go shortly after that, and his name had been added to the ward around the ministry, allowing him access to Ginny's quarters. He was what Ginny called, off the hook.

Sighing more deeply this time, he ran his hands through his fine and thin hair before finally turning off the water, feeling much more refreshed. He reached for a towel and wrapped his around his waist before heading out of the bathroom.

He looked up to see Ginny setting things on the table, and the smell of food made his mouth water. Ginny turned as if sensing his presence and smiled.

"I thought you might be hungry." She explained, gesturing towards the table. "I know I am."

_Hungry?_ Draco thought. _She must think I'm a giant!_ He was right to think it. Ginny had set on the small table plates of sausages and ham, a roasted chicken, biscuits and gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, a large assortment of vegetables and fruits, and a bottle of Spanish wine. Draco noticed that still on a trey on the counter were some cakes and puddings.

Draco glanced back at her amused. She looked sheepish.

"You're cloths have been washed and they're on the chair just there." Ginny pointed to the desk and chair he was standing next to where, indeed, his clean black slacks, black cloak and a nice green shirt were all laying. Draco was reaching for them when Ginny said "But, if you want a fresh change of cloths, I have that too…" She trailed off and Draco smiled at little at her.

"Maybe another day." He told her, imagining shopping in diagon alley with her. He knew she didn't want him to put on his old cloths, but he couldn't help it. He needed something familiar in these strange and unfamiliar surroundings.

He turned and walked back into the bathroom, drying off and tugging his cloths on.

"You look better." Ginny's voice called softly from outside the cracked door. Draco was surprised to find himself wishing she'd push it open and come in.

"Thank you." He muttered gratefully, buttoning his slacks and tugging on the form fitting, long sleeved, green shirt she had found for him. He left the cloak hanging on the towel rack.

"Do you feel better?" She asked as Draco pushed open the door. He saw her leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, eyeing him curiously.

"Yes, very much." He said, stepping forward to look at all the food. Ginny grinned and joined him, studying him more than the food.

"This is different." She mused, reaching up a hand to his shoulder length blond hair. It was back to the bright platinum blond it had once been, and not the dirty grey she had seen before. He realized it was the length she was referring to however as she twisted a particularly long piece around her finger. "Since when do you like long hair?"

"Since when do you like short hair?" He countered, lifting a single finger to move a strand off her forehead and to the side. She smiled, stepping away.

"I guess it just became more practical, easier to manage." She sat down at the table, nodding to the other chair. Draco sat, feeling suddenly more like a schoolboy on a first date than he had ever felt before.

Where was that blinding Malfoy confidence? That grace of walking on air? Where had all his will power and sleek concealment gone? The way he used to walk, talk and hold himself around people, even those he cared about. Where had it all gotten off too? Draco found he would have liked very much to have it all back.

Seeming to read his mind, Ginny smiled. "I suppose it will just take time, getting used to everything again. But don't worry," she winked at him. "I'm sure you'll have all of the Draco flare back in no time."

He noticed absently that what they had once called Malfoy flare, she now referred to as Draco flare. Unconsciously? He doubted it.

"Help yourself." She said, beginning to pile things onto her own plate.

"You didn't have to wait for me." He insisted as he reached for the sausages. He took a heaping load of them and then exchanged it with Ginny for the fruit trey.

"I wanted to." She assured him. "We've still got a bit of catching up to do you know." She reminded, slicing pieces off the chicken. Draco loaded more biscuits onto his plate and poured gravy over everything, the anticipation of real food in his mouth building.

They were silent for a few moments as they each filled their plates, and when Draco thought there was more on his plate alone then he could ever possibly eat, he tucked in.

Food! Real food! Not crummy substitutes or rotten meat or moldy bread. The whip lashing of his emotions was exhausting him, and quite consciously he closed off part of his mind and sank into the relief of feeling nothing, for the moment, but hunger.

Ginny was happy to oblige, and they ate in silence for almost half an hour. Draco finally looked up at her, feeling her gaze and smiled at the look on her face. It was approving, but generally amused. Draco cleared his throat, dabbing at his face with his napkin and slowing down his pace considerably. Ginny giggled, returning to her food.

"So you said we had things to talk about?" He inquired, glancing at her cautiously.

"Not if you don't want to." She said, shrugging. Draco furrowed his brow.

"I didn't say that." They locked gazes for a moment. Ginny broke it, looking down at the ham and mashed potatoes on her plate. "What have you been doing working in the ministry, anyway?" Draco asked, taking a sip of the wine. The strange subtle dull of his senses felt nice; better, definitely, than the stale ale he had drank for so long.

"Well…" Ginny regarded her plate curiously, seemingly searching for the right words. "After I finished school I took a break for about two years and spent it at home. It was necessary at the time." She paused, studying Draco curious look. Why had it been necessary? "After that, it seemed like everyone I knew had found something to fight for. So I joined too. The ministry was ready and willing to offer me a job as an auror; but I suppose when you consider how many are employed it isn't that great of a feat.

"Bill, Charlie and Ron were all already involved. Percy was still sitting comfortably behind his desk job, that great git; though I must admit he's softened a great deal over the years. As for Fred and George, well, their shop was going so well that when they realized something needed to be done, they signed up for part times. One of them runs the shop while the other fights. I'll admit, it keeps them comfortable." She explained, taking another sip of wine.

"So why this great place at ministry headquarters hmm? If they employ so many aurors that is." Draco nodded to their surroundings. Ginny swallowed a large bite of food.

"Well, after you've been working for such a long period of time, full time, this comes as part of the deal. People like Harry and Hermione have their own house and such, and go home every night, because they don't take off time like I do. I work and work and then I get a few months to myself. It's rather complicated how everything works out." She mused. Draco nodded, not deeming for respond for several minutes.

"Where do you live?" He asked at last, clearing off the last of the food on his plate and amazed he'd eaten so much.

"At the moment? With my parents." She replied sheepishly, finishing off her remaining wine. "I've been looking for a place of my own for a long time, but what with the war and how long I work, it never seemed practical. I keep telling myself that this time when I go home it will be different. I'll move out like a big girl. But it never is." She admitted, standing to clear some things off the table. "While the war is going on it's just easier if I can-" she was about to say something, but she stopped herself quickly and rushed past him towards her sink. Draco caught her hand.

"What's the matter?" He asked, eyeing her suspiciously. Ginny bit her lip, an old nervous habit, before tugging out of his grasp and turning away again. She didn't say anything, and Draco watched her curiously.

"What was it like in the camp, in all those different places? I mean, where were you all this time?" She had her back to him while she said it, and turned around to return to the table. She put the cakes and puddings on the table, and Draco couldn't help but reach for a chocolate one, not having had sugar in years.

He shrugged in response to her question, still eyeing her curiously over his desert. "Different places. All over really. Before I was actually registered as a Death Eater by the ministry I stayed near the bigger cities doing spy work and mapping things out. After they tried to arrest me I was sent to the camps where we were massing numbers." The nonchalance at while he seemed to be talking about all this looked like it was unnerving Ginny. But she had asked. "I moved around a lot. I'd only been in that camp about 7 months." He mused, recalling the different places he'd been. Ginny nodded, picking at her pudding. They ate the rest of their desert in silence and this time it was Draco who stood and put the plates away.

Ginny had been right. He could feel himself relaxing slowly, and he thought that maybe it would be okay after all. Or perhaps, Draco smirked, the warm relaxation was simply the effects of the 3 glasses of 12 year old wine.

He stiffened as he felt arms go around his waist, and Ginny's head pressed into his back. He stood up just a little straighter, finishing what he was doing and resting his hands on the edge of the counter top. Ginny inhaled deeply, and it reminded Draco to breath.

"You smell good." She mused, pressing her face into his back. Draco swallowed hard.

"I used your soap." He pointed out, and he felt her smile into his back. Her grip loosened, and he realized she wanted him to turn around. Slowly, he did. He couldn't help but lean back a little bit on the countertop as she had earlier. He was clean, full of good food, and comfortable, and the effects of two days without sleep were beginning to wear on him.

Ginny was looking at him with an expression he couldn't read, and it wasn't until she put her head down on his chest and took a shaky breath that he realized her eyes were teary.

"I missed you, Draco." She said at last, looking back up at him. Draco let his arms settle on her back instead of her arms, and he held her just a little bit tighter.

"I missed you too." He replied, putting his head down in a familiar position on top of her head. He closed his eyes and they stood there for several minutes, neither daring to move.

Ginny finally looked up, wiping a few tears from her eyes. Draco watched her, unsure how to respond. He'd never been good at that.

Ginny looked up at him again, and this time she moved her hands to his face and he couldn't help the sharp intake of breath. Her fingers on his chapped skin were still incredibly strange. Ginny pushed herself up to kiss him, and Draco leaned even more heavily against the counter.

Their kiss was gentle, soft, and vulnerable, expressing emotions both were to afraid to speak of or acknowledge. Her left hand tangled in his hair, and her right stayed on his face, caressing his cheek. Draco was afraid to move his hands from the small of her back, but the closer she got to him, the farther upward his left hands moved, and the farther downward his right moved. Pressed tightly against each other, Draco could feel ever motion of her body. The caresses on his face and shoulder were sending chills down his spine, making him tingle. It had been so long since anyone had touched him, let alone like that. Of course, he was hardly objecting.

They finally pulled away from each other, both breathing quicker and heavier than they would have liked. They remained in each others arms though, until Ginny pulled away and headed in the direction of the bedroom. Draco waited several minutes, wondering if she wanted him to follow her. But then, where was he going to sleep? Slowly, he followed her into the bedroom, where she was rummaging around in a drawer.

He looked around. There were several picture frames on the bedside table, but two of them had been turned down. Curious as he was, Ginny chose this moment to turn around.

He held out her hand. "Draco, come here." She said. He obeyed and took her hand, and she pulled him close. "I haven't been completely honest with you." She said, reaching up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind his ear. Draco had a sneaking suspicion that whatever she was going to tell him had to do with those pictures. "Come on, sit down."

She pulled him over to the bed where they sat, Ginny facing him, an apprehensive look on her face.

"What's the matter?" He asked for the second time that night. Sudden fears found their way into the back of his mind. He wondered for a moment in she was still single after all this time. If she hadn't found someone else… someone better. She looked like she was so scared to tell him this…

"I have no idea how to tell you this Draco," She stood, walking near the bedside table with the pictures. She picked one up and crutched it tightly in her hands, turning to face him once more. "So I'm just going to say it." She handed him the picture.

He looked and saw a little girl who looked surprisingly like Ginny. She had red hair that was pulled back into a pony tail, and was dressed in a bright orange little dress. Draco looked up a Ginny questioningly.

"Draco, she's your daughter."

Draco froze. Starring at Ginny he knew he had heard the words, but they did not register. His what? He looked down at the photo again, sure that he was not really holding it. But the little girl in the photo did have something that was not her mothers… light grey eyes. And a bone structure that he could not help but notice resembled his own.

He lifted his eyes to Ginny once more, who had not moved. She was biting her lip hard, trying to judge his reaction.

"My… I… I have a daughter?" He asked at last. There was a tense silence in which Ginny merely nodded. Draco glanced down at the photo again.

A daughter. He had a daughter. How on earth had this happened?

Ginny sat down beside him, closer than she had been before, now also looking at the picture. Draco turned to her, apparently having developed jaw-drop syndrome.

"How did… I… are you sure?" He asked, wanting to know everything at once and unable to express it.

Ginny giggled. "Yes, she's right there. And yes, I'm sure she's yours." Ginny said in a firm tone. "There was never… anyone else, Draco." She looked down when she said this. Draco set the picture behind him and turned to face her fully.

He placed his hands on her arms. "I… We, you and I, we have a daughter?" He asked once more, the fact sinking in.

"Yes Draco. We have a daughter." A tear rolled down her smiling face as she said it, and without warning Draco lunged forward and kissed her. Hard.

They toppled backwards and they broke apart, Draco smiling fully and completely, overwhelmed with a happy feeling he couldn't explain. Ginny was laughing, and as they sat back up she came forward and hugged him.

Draco stood up, pacing excitedly. "I have a daughter. I have- what's her name?" He sat back down expectantly, starring at Ginny as everything seemed to sink in and a thousand thoughts came to his head at once.

"Larissa." Ginny said, grabbing the picture again. "Though everyone mostly calls her Lara." Draco looked back down at the picture. Then just as quickly he looked back up at Ginny.

"But Gin, what… I mean how did you… what happened?" He thought suddenly of Ginny pregnant and alone, giving birth without him and raising their child by herself. Ginny smiled at him again though, setting the picture aside.

"Calm down." She whispered, kissing him gently. "And I'll tell you everything."

Draco obliged, though it was quite hard to listen without interrupting.

"After you left, I found out I was pregnant. I didn't know how it could have happened, because I performed that contraceptive spell every time. I think it was that last night we were together before you decided to leave." She mused, looking at him sadly. "But I don't really know. The point is, I was pregnant, and I had no idea what to do. I still had another year of school to finish and Dumbledore, bless him, allowed me to stay, using a disillusionment charm to hide my pregnancy. She was born on February 16. Just about everyone knew by then, I suspect, that I wasn't out with pneumonia.

"I left her with my mum while I finished school. After that I took a few years to raise her. When I finally felt like I need to do something, that's when I joined the aurors. Right now, she's at home with my mother, who takes care of her whenever I'm not there." Ginny stood and put the picture back on the table, standing up the other one which appeared to be them in the hospital on February 16.

Draco felt as though he could hardly move. The thought of Ginny going through that pregnancy alone, and then giving birth alone, and raising Lara alone… it made him feel more than ever that he had deserted her. Deserted her when she needed him most.

"Most of the reason I joined was because… well… the hopeful part of me thought I'd find you." She crossed her arms over her chest, smiling sadly. Draco stood as well, pulling her into a tight hug. They held each other for a long time, each lost in their own thoughts, but a new kind of bond between them.

Ginny finally pulled away, looking up at him thoughtfully. "I guess the hopeful part of me was right, after all." She said, brushing his hair out of his face again.

Draco smiled and then bent down and kissed her. It was slow and easy and understanding and Draco felt, for perhaps the first time in 6, almost 7 years, that he was home.

In her arms.


	14. A New Day Has Come

Draco awoke when she shifted beside him, suddenly aware of how bright it was, and how drafty it felt. Memories of the night before flooded his mind and he smiled, holding out his hand for his wand. It came floating towards him and he blocked out the sunlight in the room with it silently. Ginny seemed to relax a little, as thought thinking a lamp had been turned off. He then carefully pulled the covers up around them, and let his wand float back over to the table.

He lay down again, curling his arm around her bare midsection once more. Just as it seemed the wisps of welcome sleep were surrounding him again, there was a sudden bright light and an audible gasp. Draco opened his eyes to see Granger standing in the doorway to the room, having dropped whatever file she was carrying.

"Aaaahhh!" He said loudly (yet still sleepily), pulling the covers closer around him and Ginny as she woke up. Granger shielded her eyes.

"I'm so sorry. I um, just wanted to drop this off before you left, Ginny. I didn't know… I'll go now." She set the file she had been picking up on the dresser and rushed out of the room, taking the bright light which had obviously come from the open door with her.

Ginny giggled a little and slumped back into her bed, and Draco was not so quick to follow.

"Happen often?" He asked, looking down at her.

"Actually yes, though I'm not usually in bed with the father of my child." She stretched her arms over her head, and Draco tried to stop himself looking anywhere but her face.

"Then who are you usually in bed with?" He asked suspiciously, and she swatted him on the arm.

She began to stand up but he caught her arm and yanked her back with a startled shriek. "No you don't." He told her, wrapping his arms tightly around her small figure. "Mm still sleepy."

Ginny giggled at his complaining and rolled over to face him. "We have to get up." She told him. He shook his head, closing his eyes tightly and scrunching up his face.

He was happy to find he wasn't surprised at all when she kissed him, and he pulled her closer. She stopped much too soon, and this time he let her go. She stood and stretched lazily, and he watched her get some cloths out of her dresser and head out of the room. Draco sighed and closed his eyes. He wanted to just lay here forever.

Ginny was back in a moment and she crawled over to him. "Time to get up." She repeated. Draco sighed dramatically and she smiled. "Come on, let's go shower." She said, grabbing his hand and tugging him into a sitting position.

"Two showers in less than 24 hours? I suppose this means you'll be expecting me to eat breakfast as well?" He mused, smirking at her.

"You'll have to get used to a lot of things I suppose, living with me." She ran her hands through his hair.

"Hmm, I suppose so." He pulled her into a gentle kiss. "Is that one of them?" He asked quietly.

"Mmmhmm." She mumbled, kissing him again. Before he could stop her, she had scrambled out of bed. He grinned slightly, following her.

"And the others are in the shower." She said, rushing from the room.

Draco smirked. "Indeed."

* * *

Draco lathered up the soap in his hands, rubbing gently over Ginny's back. 

"Do you know what today is?" Ginny asked, rubbing shampoo through her hair. Draco shook his head and then remembered she wasn't facing him.

"No." He answered, partly curious why it mattered.

"Today is the 17th. And before I was captured, I was supposed to be going home today." She stuck her head under the water and Draco paused shaking conditioner out of the empty bottle.

"Supposed to be?" He asked, setting the bottle down.

Ginny turned around. "That's right. And as it turns out, they think I've been through enough." She wrapped her arms lazily around his neck, smiling up at him. "And you know what that means?"

Draco raised his eyebrows. "We're going… home?" he asked uncertainly, rubbing conditioner through her hair.

Ginny nodded.

* * *

The next few hours seemed to pass in a haze for Draco. Ron had come in to help him pack up while Ginny finished some last minute work. Ginny had told Draco that the sooner he got the packing done, the sooner they could leave. 

Once he and Ron had talked about the wizarding news and the many things going on that Draco didn't know about, Ron led him through ministry security procedures; he had to have his wand checked, his fingers printed and his wizarding ID renewed.

When they returned to Ginny's room she was sitting on the trunk, looking apprehensive.

"So you promise you'll be in within the month?" Ginny asked Ron seriously, hugging him goodbye.

"Of course. Cassie will have my head if I'm not home a week after you." He reminded. Harry shook Draco's hand, promising he and Hermione would come and see them back at the house.

Once Ginny had said goodbye to everyone they left the ministry, checking their baggage like mail so that it would arrive later that night.

"Where exactly are we going?" Draco wondered aloud as he followed Ginny down the street.

"To Diagon Alley." Ginny supplied. Draco stopped in his tracks. Ginny turned to look at him.

"That's not a good idea." He said, thinking about the many people and the familiar surroundings. Ginny took his hands as if to lead him like a little child.

"Come on, I need to pick up a few things before we go home, and you need to get some new cloths." She told him, eyeing his attire. While Draco agreed with her on this point, he was still not too fond of going shopping at this particular moment.

He chose an argument he could at least win. "I'm not going to let you pay for it. And I can't afford it right now, it's not as though being a Death Eater pays." He pointed out, reluctantly following her into the Leaky Cauldron. They stopped in the entry way.

"Draco, you're loaded." She reminded as though it was obvious. Draco rolled his eyes.

"I was loaded. But the ministry took all that when I became a registered Death Eater. It's probably all gone by now." He imagined the ministry spending every last drop of his trust fund and inheritance and cringed.

"If you think they could spend that much money…" Ginny shook her head. "Draco, you've defected to our side. You've got it all back. Every last sickle. It's all waiting for you at Gringotts."

Draco let his mouth hang open for several moments. Ginny took his hands in hers again and used one to close it. Draco blinked several times, as though to clear his vision. So much for winning the argument.

"So it's like they just expect me to pick up right where I left off, isn't it?" He asked suddenly, realizing that apparently, everything was back to normal. He assumed that he still owned Malfoy manner after all, unless his father decided to defect.

Ginny squeezed his hands tightly. "You've got a second chance, Draco. Let's make the best of it."

* * *

Ginny took him all through Diagon Alley. She picked up all the little things she needed, and they went shopping for cloths as well. 

"So they'd already left?" Draco asked as they looked through windows.

"All that was left were the walls and a few damp fires. They'd covered their tracks too, but we're still searching." Ginny shoved one hand in her pocket, looking upset. Draco felt torn over the particular subject.

After all, he was still a Death Eater. The two sides were not equally important to him, but he could not help but feel resent mixed with smugness at the news that the Death Eaters had escaped completely. Perhaps that too, would fade.

After they had several packages, Draco managed to persuade Ginny to lunch, and then the port key station.

Before they reached it however, Ginny stopped in front of a shop Draco recognized all too easily. Ginny looked quizzically between the shop and Draco, her lips pursed. Finally she nodded.

"Yes, you're getting a hair cut." And she dragged him into the shop.

* * *

Draco hadn't port keyed in several years, and the feeling of being yanked into a strange vortex once more nearly made him sick. 

They had port keyed to a secure location in the village outside Ginny's home, which Draco had never been to before. He couldn't help feeling a little light hearted, or perhaps he was just light _headed_.

Draco reached up to swipe his fingers through his hair before realizing he didn't have much to run his fingers through. He's had it cut to his old school haircut, and Ginny had remarked it made him look much younger. Draco wasn't sure he agreed. Maybe, he thought, it makes me look more innocent.

Draco followed closely behind Ginny through the village, and finally they were walking along a windy dirt road. Ginny was growing more excited by the second, but Draco's sense of foreboding was only growing. His heart was beating faster with every step he took.

Ginny was calling out to the house before them, and she took off at a jog towards the gates. Draco slowed his pace, letting Ginny make all her greetings first.

"Charlie, I'm so glad your okay! I've been so worried!" Ginny jumped into her older brothers arms, and he hugged her tightly with one arm, leaning heavily on a cane with the other.

"I'm fine, no worries. Mums been terribly worried about you! She wouldn't stop sobbing when you went missing. I don't think she'll ever let you go back now." Charlie admonished. Ginny shook her head.

"Grandma! Grandma! She's here, she's here, she's here!" A little girl Draco recognized immediately came running out of the house towards them. She had bright red hair, and lots of freckles, though she couldn't have been as tall as Ginny's hip.

"Lara!" Ginny shouted, running towards the girl and scooping her up in her arms. Ginny spun her around several time while holding her tight, and Lara giggled appreciatively.

"I'm so glad your home Mummy. Just wait till I show you how well I can read now, and I'm getting better at spelling every day! Isn't that right Uncle Charlie?" The little girl looked up happily at Charlie, who nodded proudly.

Ginny was kneeling down beside her, fixing her hair. "Well that's wonderful but look at you! You're covered in flour! Have you been helping Grandma with the baking?" Ginny brushed halfheartedly at the little girls clothes while Lara nodded happily.

Charlie turned to him and held out a hand. Draco shook it and caught his eye. Charlie looked very amused.

"I never got a chance to thank you." Charlie said at last, smiling. Draco shook his head.

"Don't worry about it." He said quietly. Ginny looked up at them curiously. Draco realized she'd probably never heard about that day in the woods. He and Charlie exchanged another amused glance before Ginny stood with Lara in her arms.

"What's this about?" She asked, looking between them. Charlie shook his head ruefully, glancing at Lara.

"I'll tell you someday. Right now, there are more important things." He turned and headed back towards the house, leaving Draco, Ginny and Lara.

Nobody said anything for a few moments while Lara studied Draco closely. Draco felt as though he couldn't move. He'd imagined this moment, meeting Lara, his child, but it felt so different, seeing her for the first time.

Lara finally looked between her Mom and the man she didn't know with questioning glances. Ginny smiled reassuringly at Draco.

"Lara, I'd like you to meet Draco. You recognize him, don't you?" Ginny kneeled down beside the little girl again, and Lara nodded. "He's your father. He's home Lara."

Draco tried his best to look friendly, although he still could not move. Lara was still looking up at him cautiously, but she finally stepped forward. She held up a hand and made a come hither gesture, to which Draco leaned forward. They were face level, eyes locked.

After several long moments looking into what appeared to be his own eyes, "Can I call you daddy? Like Tommy calls Uncle Ron?" She asked very quietly, as though it was a very important question.

Draco found himself smiling. "If you want to." He answered. He heard a sniff, and they both looked to find Ginny with her eyes watering and her hand pressed firmly against her mouth. She waved them off, smiling broadly.

"What's the matter Mum?" Lara asked, grabbing Ginny's hand. She smiled and picked Lara up in her arms, wrapping one arms around Draco's waist.

"Nothings wrong darling, not anymore." She buried her head in Draco's chest happily, and Draco and Lara shared a look of amusement.

"Ginny!" Came a scream from the front of the house. "Ginny! Oh my baby! My daughter! Oh, she's alright, thank Merlin!"

Mrs. Weasley came running towards them from the house, sobbing uncontrollably. Ginny wiped at her face and set Lara down, who quickly moved out of the way rather than suffer the bone crushing hug that was inflicted on Ginny.

Ginny hugged back at her mother tightly, and the two women broke into tears once more. They were both crying and mumbling incoherencies at each other that they seemed to understand. Lara moved to stand by Draco as the two watched the warm display of affection.

Lara finally reached up to grab his hand. "Come on, I'll show you inside, and you can help me make sure the turkey doesn't burn, because I'm not allowed to touch the stove." She grabbed the package Ginny had dropped while Draco picked up his and she began to lead him inside, leaving the two emotional women outside.

As they began to head inside, Ginny pulled away and gathered herself enough to call after them. "Lara, sweetheart, wait."

Lara didn't even look back. "Don't worry Mum, Daddy's safe with me."

And they burst into tears again.

* * *

By the time the night was drawing to a close, Draco thought he might collapse from exhaustion. There had been somewhat of a party for Ginny's homecoming, to which almost all her brothers had attended. Ron could not come as he was still at the ministry, but Fred, George, Charlie, and Bill were all there. Ginny's brother Percy was unsurprisingly absent, and there were several rude remarks made on his behalf. Cassie and Tommy, Ron's wife and son also showed up, along with Harry and Hermione. Everyone had laughed and ate and drunk, accept for Cassie who was again expecting, and around midnight the party was finally drawing to a close. 

As Ginny helped Cassie to the Floo with Tommy, Draco collapsed next to his sleeping daughter on the sofa. He looked down at her little curled up frame, tired and exhausted, and thought that he couldn't agree with her more.

In the short time he had been there, Lara had shown him all around the house, explained about the Gnome problem in the backyard, showed him her toys and puzzles, read a story to him which she had clearly memorized, and had shown him the dog she wanted which her mother refused to buy for her until she was older, making him promise he would work on her.

Draco tucked a bright red lock of hair behind the little girl's ear, admiring her outgoing spirit. He figured the questions she didn't know how to ask yet would come someday, but it was not today, and for now he was content.

Ginny came over, smiling at him. He smiled back. She picked Lara up, who mumbled something that sounded like 'not tired' and Ginny took her upstairs. Draco sat there alone for several minutes, until he realized he was not alone at all.

Mrs. Weasley was sitting in the chair directly across from him, Mr. Weasley already having gone to bed. They stared at each other for some time before Mrs. Weasley took another gulp of wine.

"I don't suppose you know how special Ginny is to me. She's the first Weasley girl in ages, but you know that." She was slurring slightly, but only slightly, and Draco found the look on her face a little disturbing. "No, she's very important to me. When she was six years old she caught the most terrible fever. The doctors said she wouldn't make it, but I knew otherwise. I sat by her bed and prayed all night long, and when I woke up that morning, her fever had lessened and her color was back. She's always been one to pull through, my Ginny. Never gives up on anything, or anyone." At this, Mrs. Weasley looked up at him with concern in her eyes. "I don't know if her loving you has done either of you any good in the past, but I hope that somehow, it can give you both a future. There's more at stake now that just your own lives. There's a little one now, and you're going to have to take some responsibility. I hope you're ready for that." Mrs. Weasley stood and swayed a little before beginning to head towards the kitchen.

She stopped when she was almost there, and turned around.

"You know, I suppose I ought to thank you for saving her life. But I think, somehow, you've got a long way to go before that'll mean anything to either of us. So maybe, one day, I'll be able to thank you. But not right now." She turned again, calling over her shoulder. "Goodnight, Draco."

"Goodnight Mrs. Weasley." He answered. Mrs. Weasley's reply came back slurred, and he somewhat hoped that her lecture had been the wine's fault.

"Please dear, it's Molly. They can call me _Mrs. _at the funeral." And she disappeared through the kitchen and into her bedroom.

Draco stared into the fire for several long moments, waiting for Ginny to return. What Mrs. Weasley had said was probably true. It was hard to think that any of them could accept him here. And he didn't much like the idea of living at the burrow. He decided suddenly that he would go house shopping soon, probably tomorrow. If he and Ginny were really going to have a life together, it should be in a place where they could make their own memories, not live in the shadow of their parents.

Ginny walked back into the room and sat down next to the fireplace, staring fixedly at him.

"You were wonderful tonight." She told him with a smile, pulling her knees up to her chest. Draco moved down to sit by her.

"It was harder than it looked." He promised, smirking. Ginny only shook her head.

"Lara loves you. She's absolutely smitten. Though I don't know if she actually understands everything that's going on. And you seemed to do alright with everyone else, my brothers that is, and Cassie. Dad even seemed to want to like you." She insisted, and Draco shook his head.

"They don't approve." He told her, looking to the dim kitchen.

"They don't have to." Ginny moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his midsection. "I approve."

Draco smiled. "I'll bet you do." He leaned in and gently kissed her, relaxed by the familiar feel of her lips.

They pulled apart and cuddled for several minutes before Draco figured he should enlighten her on his plan.

"Do you like living here?" He asked, looking around. Ginny shrugged.

"Its home." She closed her eyes again and laid her head on his shoulder. Draco played with one lock of her hair while he thought.

"How do you feel about finding somewhere else? Somewhere all our own?" He asked at last, looking once more through the pictures on the walls. Ginny's head lifted off his shoulder and she looked at him cautiously.

"I'd love it. But I don't think Mom would approve." She said, wrinkling her nose. Draco smirked.

"I'm serious, you know. If this…" He struggled to find the right words. "If this is what we want, to be together, to get married and live happily ever after, then we need to start thinking about our future. We have to make plans, for ourselves and for Lara."

Ginny grinned. "The fatherly instinct kicks in." She kidded, but Draco just poked her. He had to admit, he did adore the little 5 year old. She'd be 6 soon too, old enough to start school. "What're you going to do? I mean, technically you have enough money that you'd never have to work again, so it really doesn't matter."

"Neither of us ever has to work again if we don't want to." He told her, feeling suddenly protective of her. "But I think I want to help you. I already know you aren't going to stop fighting until the war is over, so I figure I might as well be there with you." He shrugged, as though it didn't matter, but it apparently did to Ginny.

She kissed him fully and hugged him tightly. They stayed that way, and he was grateful for their closeness.

"You'll have to change your schedule, I hope you're aware, to something like Harry and Hermione have." He added, not being able to bear the thought of behind away from her for 6 months at a time. Ginny nodded, and kissed him again.

"Come on, they'll be plenty of time for all this in the morning. Let's go to bed." She stood and held out her hand. Draco took it and followed her to her room.

Ginny went into the bathroom to change, and Draco found this absurd, as he'd soon be undressing her again anyway. She smirked at this thought and changed into sleeping cloths himself.

"Do you really want to get married?" She asked when she came back from changing. Draco paused, studying her. She crawled into bed and laid on her side, waiting for him.

"Do you?" He asked, crawling in beside her.

"I'm not asking you." She stated firmly, glancing up at him. Draco smirked.

"Then you'll have to wait." He told her, lying down.

"For what?" She asked curiously, cuddling up next to him. Draco smiled broadly.

"For me to buy the ring."

* * *

Draco woke up for the first time in a long time feeling whole. He felt renewed and happy, and he was sure it had something to do with the redhead lying next to him. He smiled, watching the sun start to peak through the curtains. 

He got up gently from the bed, quietly putting on his dressing robe as to not wake Ginny and headed downstairs. He didn't figure anyone would be awake, and he was right.

He went into the backyard and looked at the pale luminescence before him, thinking just how lucky he really was.

He had been given a second chance. After everything that had happened, after all the death and the war and the pain, if felt so strange to be happy and safe and complete. He had missed so much of the wizarding world, waiting for death in a Death Eater camp. He had missed the birth of his child, his firstborn, and he had missed Ginny.

Yes, things had changed. Things would never be the same again.

Draco didn't think he wanted them to be.

He could feel the painful burning in his arm, his mark coming alive once more. The strange symbol no longer meant anything to him. It simply served as a scar of the past.

Draco's thoughts turned to Blaise and Nott, and the lives of the innocent children in the camp. He wondered what would become of them, and if he'd ever see them again as Blaise had predicted.

At the moment, he wasn't sure where his life would be taking him. He knew two things: He was going to marry Ginny, and he was no longer a Death Eater. Everything else was a bit of a blur.

It wasn't going to be easy, he knew that. But it was a struggle he wouldn't regret.

Draco pulled the red diary from his pocket, running his hands over the worn leather. He opened it up and flipped through the pages, reading over words that seemed to be from a different lifetime yet were still very real.

He closed his eyes, saying a silent prayer for everyone who had been lost to the dark, and everyone who was still fighting it. And, of course, those who followed it as well. Those who had not been as lucky as him.

"What're you doing?" A tiny, sleepy voice came from beside him, startling him from his reverie.

Draco looked down to see Lara beside him, tiredly rubbing her eyes. She was holding a big stuffed rabbit in her arms. Her hair was tousled, and she was wearing a long sleeved pink night gown. Draco pocketed the diary and smiled.

"I'm watching the sunset. What're you doing up so early?" He asked. Lara shrugged.

"I heard you get up." It was a simple answer. She held out her arms expectantly, wanting to be picked up. Draco complied and hoisted her onto his side, where she rested her head against his and stared at the rising sun once more.

Draco turned his head back out as well, studying the colors. The pale yellows slipped over the darker oranges and the once bright reds turned to barely visible pinks. He hadn't watched a sunrise in a long time.

He heard a noise behind him, and he didn't have to look back to know Ginny was awake too. She came over to them and glanced briefly at Draco and Lara before grinning and studying the sunrise for herself.

This was true happiness, Draco mused. This was a life. This is where it starts. Right here. Right now.

Ginny laced her arm around his midsection and he draped an arm around her shoulders. Lara's head bobbed down on his shoulder, a sign she was drifting off to sleep again.

"I just love happy endings." Ginny mused, smiling at him. Draco shook his head.

"There isn't an end in sight." He kissed her once, and then they turned once more to the beginning of a new day.

**End**

_AN: And so, The Absence of Good draws to a close. I hope you all liked the ending! However, there will be one more chapter posted; i'm in the process of doing a comentary on the whole story, so if any of you want to read that it'll be up soon too. I am sorry this chapter took so long, but i wanted to get it right. For all of my loyal fans, i want you all to know that i am working on a sequel, but it might be some time before thats happens. I just want to say thanks to everyone who had supported me and read this story and kept it going. You guys are awesome! Also, i would kill for some fanart to go with this story. Just a note, teehee._

_Once again, thanks to the many readers, and remember to check back for the Sequel: Where it Takes Us (working title)_

A new day has come...  
By Celine Dion

I was waiting for so long  
For a miracle to come  
Everyone told me to be strong  
Hold on and don't shed a tear.

Through the darkness and good times  
I knew I'd make it through  
And the world thought I had it all  
But I was waiting for you

I see a light in the sky  
Oh, it's almost blinding me  
I can't believe  
I've been touched by an angel with love

Let the rain come down and wash away my tears  
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears  
Let it shatter the walls for a new, new sun

A new day has come…

Where it was dark now there's light  
Where there was pain now there's joy  
Where there was weakness, I found my strength…

I see a light in the sky  
Oh, it's almost blinding me  
I can't believe  
I've been touched by an angel with love

Let the rain come down and wash away my tears  
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears  
Let it shatter the walls for a new, new son

A new day has come!

Let the rain come down and wash away my tears  
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears  
Let it shatter the walls for a new, new son

A New Day Has Come…


End file.
